


Art of Survival

by niteryde



Category: Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Blood and Violence, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Dark, Drama, Eventual Smut, F/M, Gritty, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Pre-Canon, Science Fiction, pre-saiyan saga
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:40:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 65,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27559996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niteryde/pseuds/niteryde
Summary: At 17 years old, Vegeta decides he's ready for the challenge of earning rank and moving up in Frieza's army...but while in the process, he uncovers a resistance movement against Frieza stirring throughout the universe. These are dangerous times, and only the strong will survive.
Relationships: Vegeta (Dragon Ball)/Original Character(s)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 27





	1. Competition

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Before we get going, I just wanted to say a few things.
> 
> 1) This story will be dark. If you didn't like how I wrote Vegeta in "Point of No Return" or in any flashback sequence I've used in any of my stories, or you didn't like the tone in No Return at all, then I don't recommend reading this story. Rape/suicide will be insinuated/talked about, but not explicitly written. Murder/violence, well, you already know that's par for the course with this canon backstory of Vegeta's life.
> 
> 2) I intend for this story to fit into canon. That means that no Earthlings will be making an appearance (sadface). The focus will be primarily on Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz. There won't be any huge time jumps or any fast-forwarding to the future. It'll just be contained in this time frame, just focusing on this part of their lives.
> 
> 3) Ages. I couldn't really find anything on this, so I'm going to be lazy and say that they're all ten years apart, which puts Vegeta at 17, Raditz around 27, and Nappa around 37. Just to clarify.
> 
> Anyways, longest A/N ever. If you're still with me, then I hope you enjoy. :) As usual, I don't own any part of Dragonball Z.

The underground dungeon was dark, crowded, and humid. The air in particular smelled of sweat and blood.

It was the perfect atmosphere for a good fight.

Nappa didn't react as the bloodthirsty and rowdy crowd feverishly chanted one man's name. He thought the place had been large, but now it didn't seem large enough as more aliens packed in to watch the fight. Standing all the way in the back against the wall, he could easily see over everyone's heads. He watched the bloodied fight that was captivating the crowd – the fight that was quickly becoming one-sided.

In what looked like a barbed wire cage, one slick, green reptilian alien stood, smugly staring down at the smaller warrior who was sprawled out on the ground. It looked like the fight had been won, but Nappa knew better. He looked up briefly and made eye contact with Raditz across the dungeon. They had a silent exchange, and then Nappa grinned. Both Saiyans then looked over to the side, where two short, red-skinned alien men were standing, watching the fight with wide, blue eyes.

One of them hissed a little, his forked tongue flicking out anxiously, before he urgently told his comrade, "Remi, if you don't stop this fight soon, that boy is going to get killed-"

"No, no, look!" the other alien interrupted, gesturing back to the fight. "He's getting up again!"

Sure enough, the fallen warrior was slowly getting back up to his hands and knees. Bare chested, the tanned skin of his back was shiny with sweat. He was in loose black pants with white boots, and he was wearing a white mask that covered almost his entire head, save for his eyes and mouth. He couldn't quite stop the few strands of black hair from falling into his eyes though, even with the mask. Brushing aside as much blood as he could from his face, the warrior slowly looked back up at his reptilian opponent and offered a mocking smirk.

The reptilian fighter swooped in immediately, eager to deliver the final knock out blow and end the fight. He aimed his hardest kick right at the young warrior's neck, but his ankle was effortlessly caught with one hand. The reptilian blinked a few times in surprise. He tried yanking his foot free, but he couldn't break that powerful grip on his ankle, leaving him to awkwardly hop on one foot while trying to maintain his balance. Before the reptilian fighter could even see it coming, the smaller warrior swiftly stood up and landed a devastating blow right under his chin, sending the fighter flying backwards until he crashed hard into the cage.

The crowd fell into stunned silence when the reptilian man didn't get up from where he landed. Meanwhile, the other warrior who had been taking a beating for the last few minutes, effortlessly remained on his feet. He spit a mouthful of blood on the ground, cracked his neck once, and then glared out into the crowd. After a few seconds, the crowd came back to life and roared their approval.

The two red alien men were practically bombarded by screaming aliens.

"That was LUCK! I got 2500 yins that say this kid can't handle one more fight!"

"Let my son fight him! 6000 yins say he'll get his teeth kicked down his throat!"

"EVERYONE, PLEASE HOLD YOUR WAGERS UNTIL THE NEXT MAN STEPS UP TO FIGHT!" Remi yelled out. Inside the cage, the body of the reptilian fighter was being dragged out. Meanwhile, the victor was squatting down, watching the chaos outside of the cage with veiled disgust.

"I'll fight him!" a powerful voice boomed over the crowd. Everyone looked over at Nappa, who had stepped forward. The large Saiyan slowly unwrapped the tail from around his waist, waving it confidently behind him. "I'm a Saiyan, and Saiyans don't lose fights. I'll fight this kid, and I'll crush him like the bug he is."

Everyone in the crowd exchanged looks and whispers. They had noticed his armor and knew he was one of Frieza's men, but the tail changed the name of the game. The surviving Saiyans who worked for Frieza had started earning themselves a reputation, especially the youngest Saiyan, recognizable by his trademark flamed hairstyle. They were all relieved that this wasn't _that_ Saiyan, but if he was going to fight, that only meant one thing. The other warrior was a dead man walking.

"2500 YINS ON THE SAIYAN!"

"3000 YINS! That kid is going to be dead before he knows what hits him!"

"Wait, damn it, WAIT!" Remi shouted, his red face even redder with the growing heat in the dungeon. He wiped the sweat off his scaly skin, and then demanded, "Does ANYONE here have any money on the boy?"

"I do," Raditz smoothly said as he stepped up through the crowd. Dressed in altered armor, his tail was tucked beneath his crotch guards as he effortlessly shoved his way forward. "The kid's my brother, and he can beat anyone, even a Saiyan. If he loses, I pay everyone here twice their wager. If the kid wins though, I get _all_ the money."

The crowd immediately burst into a frenzy of activity, as everyone shoved forward to get in on the wager. Meanwhile, the door to the cage was opened. The young warrior didn't flinch, maintaining his squat. His arms were outstretched to his sides, where he was tightly gripping the sharp wire with both bare hands as he leaned back against it. His crimson blood was trickling down to the ground from that wire, from the skin tearing on his hands and his back. He barely noticed.

Nappa confidently strode up to the cage, chuckling as he did. Just as he was about to enter, Nappa removed his armor, exposing his massive build. In size, he almost dwarfed his opponent, who was much leaner. His action only spurred higher wagers, but he paid that no mind as he stepped into the cage.

_Don't go nuts, Vegeta,_ he silently pleaded as the door was locked behind him. _Remember that the regen tanks are down._

_Don't worry, Nappa,_ Vegeta sent back, slowly getting up from his squat. He flashed a smirk. _We'll just have a little fun before I win this competition. And I'm not talking about this fight either._

_You won't win if you killed that last guy._

_I didn't kill him, fool. He's unconscious and might not ever walk again, but I pulled back enough to make sure I didn't kill him. I'm not going to lose this._

Nappa subtly nodded, knowing what the prince was referring to. He then wrapped his tail snugly around his waist, glancing over through the crowd towards Raditz. The Saiyan was busy heatedly discussing things with Remi and his business associate. Of the three, Raditz was by large the most skilled negotiator. Vegeta was also highly skilled at it, but he was far too impatient and hot-tempered for the back-and-forth; he much preferred using coercion through the removal of a limb or two to get what he wanted.

Unfortunately, in this little game, no violence to the native aliens was allowed. Though Vegeta often didn't care what Frieza's rules were, in this case, he cared very much. The stakes were high for the young prince, and he was going to give Frieza no reason not to reward him once he emerged victorious.

Finally, Raditz turned around and gave Nappa the go-ahead nod. The crowd was already buzzing, yelling and chanting for the large Saiyan to destroy the lanky, bloodied teenage boy in front of him. Vegeta cradled his jaw with one hand, gently feeling the side of it. It was a bit sore, but aside from that, he was fine. He then readjusted his mask as best as he could. It was scratchy and uncomfortable with the heat, but if they were going to win the money, then he had to keep it on until this so-called "fight" was over.

Vegeta quickly ducked out of the way when Nappa sent a punch straight for his face. Nappa wound up blasting off part of the cage with the impact, sending it flying into the aliens who had been close by. Vegeta furiously cursed under his breath, hoping none of the weaklings were killed.

_Idiot!_ he hissed mentally. _We're not allowed to kill anyone! Remember?_

_Oops. Sorry, Vegeta,_ Nappa added, looking out into the crowd, which had exploded in fanaticism over the showcase of Nappa's strength. Far from being frightened, they were only further entertained. Vegeta's gaze darkened. If they wanted entertainment, he would oblige.

_You might have to wrap this up soon, Vegeta,_ Raditz suddenly sent, making the prince look over his shoulder at him. _Some of these fools don't look like they're going to stick with their wagers._

Vegeta turned back to Nappa, and quickly phased out of sight to avoid another wild right hand. The prince phased in behind his comrade, and delivered a powerful kick right to the back of Nappa's neck. The impact sent Nappa flying forward and crashing right through the cage, forcing everyone watching to practically dive to the ground out of self-preservation. The Saiyan only came to a stop when he slammed into the opposite wall, before crumpling down to the ground. Unlike Vegeta who had been mostly feigning fatigue and injury to milk more money out of the crowd, there was nothing fake about the pain on Nappa's face. He could barely move after that impact.

The prince landed lightly on his feet, ignoring the crowd which was dead silent. He settled his eyes on Raditz.

_Fast enough?_ he mentally growled.

_Yeah, but I think you might've just paralyzed Nappa,_ Raditz warily said, looking down at his fallen man who was still trying just to regain his motor function.

_I hope I did. It'd give me an excuse to finally kill him,_ Vegeta sneered. He then walked out of the custom exit he had created in the wired cage. Every alien in his path quickly got out of his way. His display of power was finally starting to draw suspicion as to his true identity, and no one wanted to say anything out of fear that they were right.

"Well, guess I'll just be taking that money from you now," Raditz nonchalantly said, breaking the awkward silence in the dungeon.

"That's not fair!" a young, one-eyed alien from the back shouted. "That boy was no ordinary fighter! No one can take out a Saiyan! He has to be Ve-!" He was silenced by another alien striking him in the face.

"It is fair. My brother won. Perhaps this weakling he beat is not a true Saiyan after all," Raditz scoffed, looking down at Nappa in disgust.

The aliens whispered, and seemed to relax a little over that explanation. Raditz then turned back to Remi, who immediately extended an enormous bag filled with coins. Raditz snatched the bag up, flung it over his shoulder, and then left the same way Vegeta did.

It took a few minutes before Raditz stepped out into the night air. As soon as he did, he pulled out his scouter and put it on. Then he blasted off in the direction of their abandoned space pods. The planet they were on was rich and well off, something that was clear from the advanced civilizations he saw below him during his flight. It was just one reason why Frieza hadn't wanted anyone to die by the hands of his men. The bigger reason, of course, was that his men were simply not supposed to be on the planet at all.

Vegeta had discarded his mask when Raditz finally dropped in next to him. The prince was sitting on the latch of his space pod, using the crumpled mask to wipe the blood and sweat off his body. He didn't even look up when Raditz sat down across from him.

"Get all of it?"

"Yep. With what we got earlier today, I think this puts us as about 95,000 or so," Raditz said, putting the bag between them.

"Count it and make sure," Vegeta ordered. "If you're short, go back there and get the rest of it. Every last one of those damn coins counts." He scowled and looked off into the distance. "Where the hell is Nappa?"

"Still recovering."

"Should have told him to get us something to eat before he gets back here," Vegeta grumbled, tossing the now-dirty mask aside where it rolled on red dirt. "Haven't eaten in I don't know how long."

"We could actually buy something local with all these yins. Maybe even get a female or two," Raditz offered with a smirk. That smirk vanished when he saw the glare he received, and he quickly added, "I'm just kidding, of course. I know we can't spend it."

"Damn right we can't spend it. Not when we don't know how much everyone else made."

"You think anyone made more?"

"Doubt it. According to base, the illegal underground fighting on this planet is where the money is. But we've been there all day, and we didn't see anyone."

"That's true."

"Enough talk. Shut up and count the money," Vegeta growled, gesturing with his chin towards the bag. He then leaned back, before slowly laying down. Now that the adrenaline of the fights was starting to wear off, he was feeling a little soreness from the blows he had taken. It was nothing he couldn't handle, but resting his body for a few minutes would be helpful.

For a while, the only sound was coins rattling while Raditz neatly counted their stash. Vegeta stared up at the night sky, silently debating whether or not what they had was enough. The only way he was going to get what he truly wanted, was to bring back the most money to Frieza while drawing the least amount of attention. No coercion. No threats. No bloodshed. It was a trivial challenge, but that thought only made Vegeta angrily grind his teeth together. He shouldn't have even been doing this ridiculous assignment in the first place. In his mind, Frieza should have simply given him what he so rightly deserved: a spot on the elite rank qualifying squad.

Every few solar cycles in the Cold calendar, Frieza chose four of his top unranked soldiers and formed the squad. Being on the squad did not mean you were finally granted rank – it was a squad where each soldier competed with every other squad member in challenging assignments, until only one man emerged victorious. That man would then officially be a rank 5 soldier, which was the low end (the highest was rank 1, held only the four elite members of the Ginyu Force). Even though rank 5 was the lowest, having _any_ rank meant your life was just a little less worthless in Frieza's eyes. Hell, there were even a few perks. It was barely an improvement in the lives of those who actually earned it, but that infinitely small bit of privilege in an otherwise hopeless life made every soldier desperately yearn for the opportunity to make the squad. And Vegeta was no exception.

The prince had been passed over the last time Frieza had chosen the rank qualifying squad, something that still made his stomach churn with anger and resentment. He and his men were by far the most productive that Frieza had, but Frieza still dismissed him, claiming he was too young for the opportunity. _Youth breeds ignorance and recklessness,_ was the condescending explanation Vegeta had been given. This time around, the prince was older, and it showed. He was a little taller, his voice much deeper, half of his youthful bangs gone. And yet, Frieza had chosen only three soldiers, once again passing the Saiyan by.

Vegeta had almost given up hope altogether, when Frieza unexpectedly announced a competition for any unranked man. Win the competition, earn the last spot on the rank qualifying squad. And so here they were, trying to do just that. Raditz and Nappa weren't strong enough to qualify to make rank, but they were both loyal to their prince and wanted him to make it onto the squad. After all, if Vegeta could move up, things would get a little better for all three of them.

Or so they hoped.

"Well, look who finally rose from the dead," Raditz snorted as Nappa finally landed next to them, one hand holding his armor, his other hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you take that kick from Vegeta and still have your damn heart breathing," Nappa snapped, before turning his attention to the prince who had his eyes closed now. "Did ya have to hit me so hard, Vegeta? It took forever to get up after-!"

"Shut up, Nappa."

Nappa exhaled slowly through his nose, but knew better than to push further. Instead, he turned his attention to Raditz who was making neat stacks of coins in the dirt.

"Can I help with some of that? I'm bored."

"Help? You can't even count," Raditz mockingly responded.

Nappa growled, "Watch your mouth, third class! I know how to count."

"Uh huh."

"Why don't we just count all of this back at base?" Nappa asked, looking back to Vegeta. "We have to be back soon anyways…hey, I know! Maybe we can stop on Planet Giyonam and get some women at Uvi's tavern-OW!" he yelped, falling back over onto the ground while clutching his shoulder. Nappa rolled over and winced, slowly removing his hand to find the skin on his shoulder raw and blistering from a ki blast.

"I _said_ to shut the fuck up," Vegeta sneered, his eyes still closed, one palm extended out towards Nappa. "We aren't leaving because I am enjoying the silence. In order to enjoy silence though, it would help if you two would keep your mouths shut."

Vegeta kept to himself the part where he didn't want to hear anything about women. Whenever he wasn't consumed in hatred towards Frieza or brooding over how to gain more strength faster, his thoughts went directly to females. Any females and all females, of all colors and sizes, of all races. They were all catching his eye these days on his missions, much to his frustration. It didn't help that he had never had one, but that didn't bother him. They were a weakness he would outgrow. He had far more important things to do after all, like earning rank in the most powerful army in the universe.

The three Saiyans had fallen into silence for some time. It was a rare moment of peace, but they all shot up to their feet when they heard a loud explosion not far from them.

"What the hell was that?" Nappa asked aloud while Raditz ran his scouter. Vegeta meanwhile quickly scooped up his armor, tugging it down over his head, before quickly pulling on his white gloves.

"What are you getting, Raditz?" he demanded, grabbing his green scouter. He slipped it on and activated it.

"It's Tanus and his men! What the hell is he doing? Frieza said not to kill anyone!"

"He's wiping out the city!" Nappa yelled in disbelief. "That little moron! He's going to get us all in the red with Frieza!"

"Zarbon, come in," Vegeta hissed into his scouter, turning away from his comrades. He waited a few seconds, hitting his scouter impatiently when he heard nothing but static. "Damn it, answer me!"

"What should we do?" Raditz asked, looking anxiously back at Vegeta as the prince turned back to them. "Frieza said if any of us-"

"I know," Vegeta spit out. The tyrant's threats had been specific – everyone was slated to die if _anyone_ disobeyed his orders. The methods of death were promised to be horrifying and painful down to the last gasp. Vegeta didn't want to imagine it as his mind raced for an explanation. Finally, he concluded, "Tanus must have known he couldn't win the competition. This would be his third time getting passed over. He must want to die, and it seems the fool wants us all to die with him. It's the only explanation."

The Saiyans exchanged glances while explosions grew in the distance. Finally, Nappa and Raditz both looked to Vegeta, silently waiting for his decision. Killing another man in Frieza's army was forbidden if you were unranked, punishable with immediate death.

"Frieza won't kill me. Don't worry," Vegeta arrogantly boasted. He then looked back towards the explosion and his eyes darkened with anger. "Tanus though will pay for putting my life at risk. He is going to die by my hand, _right now_ ," he swore.

"But, Vegeta-" Nappa worriedly started, not liking his prince's impulsive plan. He staggered back a little when Vegeta blasted off, nothing but a streak of blue light in the sky. A small look between him and Raditz, and the younger Saiyan tossed their stash into Vegeta's space pod, before closing the pod latch door.

Then they both took to the air, flying after Vegeta.


	2. Open Spot

The small room Vegeta shared with Nappa and Raditz at Frieza's home base was bare, with only raw essentials: three rock-hard cots for the Saiyans to sleep on, a small light, and a few spare sets of old gloves and boots tossed carelessly in the corner. There were splotches of old, faded blood stains on the floor, a morbid décor that was only enhanced by the tense and deadly silence that filled the room.

The teenaged Saiyan prince was cross-legged on the floor, one shiny golden coin in his hand. He slipped the coin in between and around his fingers absent-mindedly, his dark eyes were locked on the door that led to their chambers while he waited for the inevitable. Nappa was reclining on his cot, looking far more relaxed than he felt. He usually hated waiting around, but in this case, the time was moving far too fast for his liking. Raditz was the only Saiyan standing as he leaned back against the far wall, his eyes on the floor. His only thought was the exact same thought he had every time they were summoned to Frieza's quarters – if death was in the cards for him, he just wanted it to be over fast.

The prince finally removed his eyes from the door, looking down at the bag of money on his lap that they had collected in their assignment. It was just chance that Frieza had been in another sector on family business when he and his Saiyan comrades had returned to base, or this would have happened sooner. Vegeta wished that had been the case. Though he still strongly doubted that he would be killed, he could never be quite sure when it came to Frieza. He just wanted to know, one way or the other.

Nappa and Vegeta suddenly stood up when the door slid opened to their quarters. Dodoria shuffled in, scanned the three over in disinterest, and then looked towards the youngest Saiyan. He motioned with his head for the prince to follow after him. Vegeta grabbed his bag of coins and followed suit, with Nappa and Raditz right on his heels. They took all of two steps before Dodoria turned back around.

"Not you two," Dodoria dismissively said, waving Nappa and Raditz off. "You two monkeys can stay here. Lord Frieza just wants the runt of the pack." Dodoria laughed at the flash of anger on Vegeta's face. Uncaring, he grabbed the prince by the back of the neck and roughly shoved him forward into the corridor, stepping out after him. The metallic door automatically slid shut behind them.

"Damn him," Nappa growled, restlessly pacing a little in the room. "That ugly pink freak thinks he's something special-"

"Screw Dodoria," Raditz snapped. He sat down heavily on his cot, which had no give. He didn't notice, his gaze going back towards the door. "Why does Frieza only want Vegeta?"

"I don't know," Nappa admitted.

After a few seconds of heavy silence, Raditz voiced the question all three Saiyans were wondering. "Do you think he's going to kill him this time?"

Nappa sat down on his own cot and frowned. "Probably not," he answered after a moment of thought. "Frieza favors him. It's saved him before."

"Yes, but favoritism eventually runs out."

Nappa said nothing to that, but he silently agreed.

Meanwhile, Vegeta was walking down a long white corridor with Dodoria right behind him. On the outside, there was nothing but pure confidence in every step Vegeta took. It did well to hide his growing anxiety and paranoia, as he wondered whether or not Frieza had only been bluffing with his threat. His walk finally slowed down when the metallic silver door to Frieza's quarters finally came into view. Sitting crosslegged outside of the door, waiting, were three other soldiers. The prince immediately recognized them as being fellow unranked men. They had all been on the last planet with him in the competition to make the rank qualifying squad. Each of them had a bag of coins, just like he did. Unlike the young Saiyan though, they weren't very good at hiding their fear - with the exception for one other teenaged boy who was just one solar cycle older than Vegeta.

His name was Jhainer, the most skilled fighter that the planet Trika had to offer. In addition to offering up the boy to Frieza, the planet had also sworn loyalty and allegiance to Frieza – it was enough to spare the planet from being purged, or destroyed altogether. Even if Trika had been purged though, Vegeta doubted Jhainer would have been killed. He was too rare a talent to pass by, being blessed with the ability to shape-shift and take on the appearance of any other living being, as well as change the pitch and timber of his voice to sound like anyone he wanted. Both were rare, dying skills of his race. Like Vegeta, he was also an exceptional fighter for his age, and his unique skill set made him another personal favorite in Frieza's eyes.

Dodoria shoved Vegeta towards the soldiers who were all sitting down. The prince shot him a ferocious glare, before slowly taking a seat next to Jhainer, grumbling under his breath. He sat crosslegged, leaning back against the wall. Dodoria then strolled into Frieza's quarters, as though purposely flaunting that as an elite rank 2 soldier, he was privileged enough to do so. Vegeta tried getting a glimpse inside, but the door closed behind Dodoria before he could. He frowned, and turned his attention to Jhainer. The boy only had one eye, having lost the other in a purge. With no pupil, his blank white stare could terrify anyone - except Vegeta.

"How long have you been sitting here?" Vegeta asked, ignoring the other two soldiers who were there.

Jhainer's long and thorny blue tail slowly slid out from under his armor. It lifted up and whipped a little in the air, showing the boy's frustration without him saying a word. Vegeta grunted, already knowing that meant he'd been there a while. At the sound, Jhainer turned his head and looked at the prince sitting next to him, staring intensely at him. Vegeta easily matched the stare. Of the two, Jhainer dropped his eye first, looking down at the bag of coins in the prince's lap.

"How much did you get?" Jhainer finally asked. Unlike the Saiyan prince, whose voice already had the deep, rough edge it would have for the rest of his life, Jhainer's voice was soft and gentle.

Vegeta only offered a smirk in response. "I'm certain it's more than you have, Trikan," he arrogantly responded.

A matching smirk spread over Jhainer's face as he showed off his razor sharp silver teeth. "I was doing well for myself, until you and Tanus wrecked everything. You have poor timing, Saiyan."

"I couldn't help myself. I enjoy wrecking things. It's very entertaining."

"Well," Jhainer said, turning his sights towards the door. "You remember Lord Frieza's warning."

"I doubt he follows through," Vegeta confidently said. "At least not with me and you. He favors us."

"Yes. It pays to be favored, doesn't it, Vegeta?" Jhainer quietly spoke, not looking back at him.

Vegeta scowled and didn't respond. He wasn't quite sure he believed that, and from the tone of Jhainer's voice, he doubted he believed it either. His eyes drifted over to the other two soldiers sitting with them, both nearly twice his age. He had seen them around, but they were both weak compared to him and Jhainer. They were both purple skinned, furry looking beasts with yellow eyes, which Vegeta thought was highly appropriate since they both looked frightened near to death. They were cowards, and they didn't stand a chance.

Still, every now and then, one of them would shoot him a look of pure hatred. Surely, they blamed him for this mess, even though Vegeta hadn't been the one to instigate the trouble – just the one to finish it. He leaned his head back, not looking at them anymore. Their hatred didn't faze him. He was used to it.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Frieza was reading over a holographic report while seated in his levitating chair. Zarbon and Dodoria were both standing on either side of him, and there was one lone, terrified green alien standing in front of all three.

"According to the research we compiled by orders of King Cold, your men are suffering from very low morale," the small, round alien in front of them said. His voice was steady, but the claws on his hands were clicking together from his shaking hands. "Every man who works for you is 30 percent likely to die from injuries sustained in battle, 65 percent likely to take his own life, and only 5 percent likely to die from natural causes. The lower the rank of each man, the higher the odds for suicide. In addition, over half of your men are severely malnourished. But nothing was as bad as the psychological tests."

"Goodness," Frieza quietly said, moving through the virtual pages with flicks of his wrist in the air. "You compiled this report, Shimdro?"

"Yes, Lord Frieza," the alien immediately replied.

"This digital handwriting of yours is exquisite. Just fantastic!" the tyrant delightfully said. He turned towards his right hand man. "Zarbon, look at this. You don't see such care with these reports anymore."

"Very impressive," Zarbon agreed with a smirk.

"Yes, it's quite a lost art."

"Er…thank you," Shimdro said, blinking rapidly in surprise. He then continued, "Lord Frieza, your father recommends you implement changes to bring the suicide rates of your men down. Having these rates so high is counterproductive to building a strong empire-"

"Dodoria," Frieza cut in, looking to his left. Dodoria immediately stepped forward.

"Yes, Lord Frieza?"

"I am almost done with Shimdro. Bring in the group that went to Planet Xin. Have them come in and stay in the back. That ordeal is the next order of business."

"Right away, Lord Frieza," Dodoria said with a short bow, before heading around Shimdro towards the door.

"My dearest Shimdro, we always go through this every two solar cycles," Frieza sighed, barely able to keep the boredom out of his voice. In the back, the two purple furry aliens were walking in, followed by Jhainer, with Vegeta coming in last. The four soldiers quietly lined up at the back wall, and they all automatically lowered to one knee. Frieza didn't acknowledge them as he continued, "Let's just get on with this, shall we? Tell me what your recommendations are, we will update the records for my father's reading enjoyment, and then we can all get back to business."

"An extra day of rest between missions would be beneficial. Installing more regeneration tanks on base would also help. Feeding the men more-"

"Now now, let's not get too excited. Look at the men in the back. Not one of them is starving."

Shimdro turned and looked over at them studiously, slowly nodding. "Yes, yes, I remember each of them. The two Tepmans have severe anxiety, and suffer from extreme paranoia. The Trikan boy is malnourished and has chronic physical injuries that have not improved from the last time we examined him. The Saiyan boy is also malnourished, and his psychological tests show an increasing tendency towards irrational violence-"

"All of that builds character, Shimdro!" Frieza laughed. "They will all be _stronger_ for it, and that is all that matters. Now then, I believe we're done here. Dodoria will show you the way out."

Shimdro sighed. Same result, just a different date on the calendar. All he cared about was leaving unscathed. He bowed as far down as his round frame would allow, and then followed Dodoria back out.

While he did that, Frieza deactivated the holographic report. With one finger, he beckoned the group against the wall to come forward. They all stood up and walked closer, and then they all kneeled back down again. Frieza's eyes were cold as he slowly surveyed the group. The two furry Tepmans were almost shaking in fear, clearly expecting to be executed. Jhainer was still, but he kept his head down, staring at the floor.

Only Vegeta was looking up. The Saiyan glared at Frieza when the tyrant finally settled his eyes on him. Frieza exhaled deeply, and then leaned back in his seat.

"Five of you accepted the challenge I proposed on Planet Xin. Only four of you are here, and I am getting reports of a battle that occurred on this planet. I can't help but be confused, since I _know_ I gave clear instructions that not one of you was to draw any attention to yourselves. So, please, help me understand. Someone tell me exactly what happened." When no one volunteered, he looked back to the youngest member of the group. "Vegeta. Why don't you begin?"

"Yes, Lord Frieza," Vegeta automatically responded out of instinct. He lowered his head and spoke, "We were all doing the challenge that you set forth. Before time was up, however, the fifth man in the challenge, Tanus, suddenly started attacking the city. My men and I felt his power rise on our scouters. I remember you said you wanted the natives untouched. I decided to put a stop to the slaughter before Tanus could cause any more damage. As I suspected, he was having trouble coming up with a decent amount of the native money without using violence, and that was the reason that he snapped. I killed him, and now here we are."

"And now here you are, indeed…" Frieza slowly echoed, scanning the group over once more.

Silence stretched on while Frieza deliberated on what to do. Vegeta reluctantly looked back up, his jaw clenched tightly. Not for the first time, his life depended entirely on the mood of the most sadistic tyrant the universe had ever known. He wasn't even strong enough to put up a decent fight and die with some honor and pride, should it come to that. Every second that passed felt like years to the young prince. He wasn't even aware that he was starting to break into a sweat.

Finally, Frieza reached over and collected the glass of wine next to his seat. "Well," he drawled. "Don't keep me in suspense, gentlemen. How many yins did you each collect? Might as well find out who won this little competition."

"350," the first Tepman proudly shouted.

"10,000," the second one quickly threw out.

Jhainer finally looked up, a slow smile spreading over his face. His quiet voice was strong as he gave his answer. "Just over 103,000, Lord Frieza."

Frieza nodded, then looked directly at Vegeta, waiting for the Saiyan to tell how much he had collected. But the prince's face had reddened from shame at hearing Jhainer's answer, giving the truth away.

"You didn't make more than Jhainer, did you, Vegeta?" Frieza knowingly said.

"I…Lord Frieza, if I would have had more time…" Vegeta started, visibly struggling with finding the right words to say. Accepting defeat in anything was not easy for him, and it showed. But more than that, the prince was finally starting to realize that he likely wasn't going to walk out of that room.

"I'm afraid you are out of time, boy." Frieza raised his glass for a slow drink, contemplated the taste for a few seconds, and then spoke again. "Jhainer."

The teenaged alien perked up, this time making direct eye contact with the tyrant. "Yes, Lord Frieza?"

"You won the competition, and true to my word, you have earned the right to join the rank qualifying squad. Zarbon, take the boy out of here and give him further instruction. Best of luck, young Trikan. I strongly hope you don't die. I would be very displeased with such news."

"Thank you, Lord Frieza," Jhainer quietly said. He gave Vegeta a brief look, but the prince was ignoring him, glaring straight ahead. Jhainer genuinely harbored no ill will towards Vegeta, but he stood, turned around, and walked out with Zarbon without a look back at the Saiyan. In his mind, Vegeta was already a corpse.

When the door closed behind them, Frieza lowered his glass of wine and stood up, slowly levitating down to the floor. Clasping his hands casually behind his back, the tyrant approached the remaining three soldiers who were still kneeling before him.

"The bottom of the food chain," Frieza mused out loud, his tail slowly waving behind him while he circled them. "What to do with you three, I wonder? Two grown men, who both failed the task I assigned. One boy, who thinks he's already a man, when he isn't anywhere close…Tepmans, leave us, but stay close. I will summon you back in here in just a little while. For now, I just want to speak to my favorite little monkey prince."

Vegeta remained silent and unmoving, staring straight ahead while he heard the other two men slowly get up and leave the room, the door sliding behind them. On one hand, he was grateful that whatever happened would not happen in front of others. The added humiliation was too much to bear. But on the other hand, being alone with the tyrant sent an unconscious shiver down his spine.

"Killing one of my men is against the rules when you are unranked, Vegeta," Frieza finally said from behind him. "Or did you forget this?"

"I did not forget, Lord Frieza," Vegeta answered. He was trying to keep his voice steady, a difficult feat when he felt Frieza's tail start to slowly wrap around his neck from behind. "I apologize for my actions but I saw no other choice at the time."

"Your stupidity might not let you see this, my pet, but this task was not without purpose. Often I will require men to infiltrate a planet undetected, move about without drawing any attention. It seems you failed in this. Do you agree?" Frieza casually asked, tightening his tail around Vegeta's throat.

"No, Lord Frieza. I did _not_ fail in that. I was doing fine until Tanus snapped and started trying to wipe out that city. He would have killed more if I hadn't stopped him," Vegeta painfully choked out, his face turning red.

"For once in your life, young prince, you are right. Though I heard about the explosions and the battle, it was not as bad as I feared. You are lucky, boy, because if I had heard a word to the contrary, I would be breaking your fragile neck right now," Frieza threatened. "But then again, according to what you had to say on your scouter, you clearly don't think I would ever kill you. Am I correct?"

Vegeta was now desperately trying to free himself of the tyrant's powerful tail which was outright strangling him, but it was hopeless. He tried gasping in even a little bit of air, but he couldn't, and his lungs started burning. Frieza then roughly yanked him backwards, forcing Vegeta's scouter to fly off his face as the Saiyan crashed back onto the floor on his stomach. His tail's grip on Vegeta's throat never loosened.

"Arrogant, rebellious, self-entitled, stupid boy," Frieza sneered, his tone acidic as he tightened his grip further, making Vegeta's face turn a sick shade of purple. _"_ You think you're _that_ special that you're above being killed, Vegeta? Is that it? Because you aren't, and to be honest, I _should_ kill you right now. You have lost your edge, your killer instinct. I can't tell you how much of a disappointment that is to me."

Vegeta was right on the brink of unconsciousness when Frieza finally released him. The prince shakily rolled onto his back, gasping desperately for air. It took him a moment to regain his bearings again. When he did, he raised his head, one hand on his throat, half-expecting Frieza to be aiming a beam straight for his heart. The tyrant had his arms crossed over his armor, his tail waving lazily behind him. His eyes were hard as he glared down at Vegeta.

"Get up, boy," Frieza ordered. Vegeta was shaking a little, but he slowly forced himself back up on his feet. His neck was already showing signs of bruising as he finally fixed Frieza with a look of sheer hatred.

"Lord Frieza," Vegeta hoarsely started, hating that even now, he had to show the tyrant respect. "I do not understand why you think I have lost my edge-"

"Yes, I know that you're not smart enough to see the signs, so I will enlighten you. Just a few solar cycles ago, you had finally started tapping into your dark nature when you were going through your adolescent growth spurt. I had never seen someone your age being so ruthless. You were unstoppable, Vegeta, a true force of nature. I thought you were finally reaching your full potential.

"But, unfortunately, this didn't last. Recently, you have started…becoming complacent. You are letting your reputation terrorize planets and civilizations, using that terror to get what you want with minimal bloodshed. You have gotten soft, and that reflects poorly on me."

Vegeta was wearing an expression that was a mixture of disbelief, humiliation, and rage. He had never been called soft in his entire life. He was a lot of things, but soft was NOT one of them.

The prince spoke through clenched teeth, "Lord Frieza. That part of my life was in response to a hormonal change some Saiyans go through that triggers bloodlust. Though it was temporary, I have killed plenty since that time, and I will kill plenty more in the future. I have _not_ lost my edge."

"Mmm, yes, you say that, but I am not convinced. The last seven planets I assigned you to, I asked you to purge them and then destroy them. You didn't purge even _one_ those planets. You just went straight into destroying them-"

"I did not understand the point of going through a purge, if the planet would be destroyed anyways-"

Frieza abruptly slapped Vegeta hard across the face, with enough strength to force the Saiyan to fall back completely. The prince winced, his entire head hurting from the shot as his eyes unconsciously watered from the sting, but nothing hurt worse than his pride. Getting beaten, he could take. Those open handed shots though were humiliating.

" _Don't_ interrupt me again," Frieza hissed, reaching down and grabbing Vegeta by the collar of his armor with one hand. He effortlessly hauled the Saiyan back up to his feet, shaking him roughly while he did. "When I give you an order, boy, it's not for you to pick and choose what to follow. Not every planet was as backwards and worthless as your home planet. Some planets actually have things of _value_ , like skilled fighters who can be recruited, or advanced technology I can use. But you won't know unless you do the purge first. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Lord Frieza," Vegeta immediately responded. "I will not make that mistake again."

Frieza slowly released Vegeta's armor, and then chuckled, patting the prince on the side of the face a couple of times. It was all Vegeta could do not to flinch away from the contact.

"Of course you won't, my precious pet. I'm making an investment in you, and I know you won't disappoint me. You are like my son, Vegeta. I know you will make me proud."

"Thank you, Lord Frieza," the prince grumbled, bile in his throat.

"Now then, since we have cleared all of that up. I have some news for you that you might be very interested in. It seems that the fourth member of the rank qualifying squad, a boy from Planet Yentilis…goodness, I've forgotten his name…"

"Wygen," Vegeta quietly said. His brow furrowed a little, before he looked back at Frieza. "He committed suicide earlier today."

"You heard?"

"I saw," the prince corrected, his tone emotionless.

"Yes, well, it's a tragic loss, but as they say - one man's loss is another man's gain. Traditionally, we have four members in the rank qualifying squad, and now, one spot is open. I thought maybe you were still too impulsive and reckless for this, but now I think that this challenge might be what you need. The competitions will be difficult, harder than any assignment you've ever had. The training will be long, grueling, and painful. If you can somehow survive – which is no guarantee - then you will finally be a man. And in the slim chance that you win the competitions, you will have your rank, Vegeta. Do you accept the offer?"

"Yes," Vegeta answered without any hesitation. "I accept."

"Then it's yours. But only under one condition."

Vegeta forced himself not to cringe. He should have known it wouldn't be so simple to get what he wanted. He remained silent, and so Frieza put a hand on his shoulder and turned the young prince around, making him face the door.

"Prove to me that you have not lost your edge, my pet. Kill both of the Tepman soldiers," Frieza ordered, not missing the way Vegeta's fingers started twitching with anticipation of the kill. After the overwhelming stress he had just been under, all the prince wanted to do was indulge in some blood and violence; he was unaware that Frieza had been wanting that very reaction from him. "You have one second from the time the door opens, to kill them, and come back into this room with both of their heads. Show me the killer you really are, and that you haven't grown soft, and the spot on the squad is yours. Do not disappoint me, boy."

"Hn. One second is more than enough time," Vegeta confidently replied, unconsciously leaning forward a little. Frieza chuckled. The prince was an investment indeed. Perhaps there was hope for him yet.

"Show me then," the tyrant challenged, before making the personalized hand signal that made the metallic door slide open.

It only took Vegeta half a second before he was standing before Frieza again. Behind him, in the corridor, two bodies collapsed with loud thuds. There was dark red blood splattered on his armor now, but Vegeta didn't notice as he raised his grisly prizes by their hair, one in each gloved hand, his intense blood-shot eyes not straying from Frieza's.

"Is that enough of an _edge_ for you, Lord Frieza?" Vegeta growled, releasing the heads and letting them fall to the floor.

Frieza chuckled, a small smile on his face. "Delightful display, Vegeta. Yes, that is the edge I like to see. I hope to continue to see it, as you follow my orders in the future to the letter," he added, an unmistakable threat in his voice. "Report to Zarbon for further instruction. Best of luck to you, young prince. I do hope you come out of this in one piece. Dismissed."

Vegeta gave a short bow, and then turned around and walked out. He didn't start breathing again until he was sure that he wasn't going to be called back. Slowing down a little, the prince looked down at the blood on his armor, uniform, and gloves, and scowled at the mess. But it was irrelevant. He was alive, and he had what he wanted – a spot on the elite rank qualifying squad. The means to make the squad didn't matter. He was there now, and it was only a matter of time before he won the status of a rank 5 soldier. In his mind, the hardest part was already over.

Unbeknownst to him, it was only just beginning.


	3. Night Off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter has some insinuated rape. Probably won't be the last. Nothing graphic, but just a warning.

Zarbon was standing in front of a huge black digital screen, ignoring the young prince standing right behind him in favor of the advanced mapping of the universe quadrant they were in. He touched the screen and swiped it with his finger, bringing up a different digital display showing blinking red lights on all the different planets. Vegeta was curiously peering up at the display, which took up the entire length of the wall. The red lights were all space pods, and all being tracked. Behind them was a team of technicians, doing work on advanced computers as they scurried about.

The prince would glance back at them every now and then, envy in his dark eyes. The technicians were never physically harmed. They just did their work keeping Frieza supplied with the absolute best in technology, and they were left alone. Though every last one of them had lost their family in a purge, and though they faced immediate death with even one failure, Vegeta still considered them lucky. Compared to him, they lived like kings.

Vegeta frowned as he looked back at Zarbon, impatience in his features. "If you're too preoccupied to deal with me, Zarbon, then just summon me on my scouter when you're ready."

"So impatient," Zarbon chuckled. He switched the display again, and this time there were blue lights on the different planets. Vegeta raised an eyebrow; the red were space pods, but he didn't know what the blue was. Zarbon zoomed in on one planet in particular as he added, "Today is a good day for you, Saiyan. You're alive and you are now on the rank qualifying squad. You should smile for once. It might make you less rough on the eyes."

"Bah, forget this! Just wasting my goddamned time," Vegeta snarled. He spun on his heel and went to march away, when Zarbon quickly grabbed him by the arm and roughly spun him back around. The prince instinctively braced himself for some kind of physical blow, but it didn't come.

"You leave when I let you leave, monkey prince. Don't forget your place," Zarbon warned. Vegeta glared back at him, barely able to restrain from saying something back. Zarbon chuckled again, patting him on the shoulder. "Now. You know all this I'm sure, but let's refresh. Since you are now on the squad, you are hereby granted preliminary rank. You will hold preliminary rank until one man emerges victorious from the competitions. That man will be upgraded to rank 5, and the rest of the squad members will be unranked again. Do you understand?" he asked slowly, as though Vegeta was a mere child.

"Yes, I already knew that," Vegeta snapped.

"Good. You're not as stupid as you look, boy," Zarbon sneered. He turned back to the digital display on the wall, crossing his arms over his armor. "As part of preliminary rank, you are granted immunity. You cannot harm any other member of the squad outside of training and competitions, and they in turn cannot harm you. Also, no other ranked man can touch you. The only exception is for self-defense. Anyone who breaks these rules will answer to me personally. Am I clear?"

"Yes," Vegeta eagerly replied, a smirk creeping up on his face. He had already known he would be given temporary protection just by making the squad. It wasn't much, but it still felt like he had just won the lottery.

"Now, just because you have made the squad doesn't mean you are absolved of your usual responsibilities. I will still be giving you and your fellow monkey brutes assignments, and I expect you to meet all my deadlines."

Vegeta's smirk disappeared. His eyebrows drew together in confusion. The training and competitions he was going to endure were legendary in their brutality. How was he ever going to finish his usual tasks at the same time?

"But—I won't have the time-"

"Would you like to take this up with Lord Frieza?" Zarbon challenged. The teenaged prince frowned. They both already knew the answer to that. No one ever wanted to deal with Frieza if they could help it, and Vegeta was no exception. He remained silent as Zarbon smirked.

"That's what I thought. Now, you have the rest of tonight off, and you report to Dodoria for your first day tomorrow at 080X. I will have a recruiting assignment for you soon on one of these planets on the screen, in a few days. For now, pick up a new armor set in the equipment room. It will be some time before you have another day off, so I suggest you enjoy it tonight while it lasts, monkey prince. Dismissed."

Vegeta lowered his head a little in feigned respect, and then spun on his heel, grumbling to himself as he walked away. He had thought his regular assignments would stop while he engaged in the training and competitions to earn his rank. He had clearly thought wrong.

Minutes later, the prince was putting on a set of new armor. It looked just like his original white set, except it was silver with a black cape attached. The visual signifier that he was not to be touched. The teenager frowned, not liking how it felt. He was debating fastening the cape to his original white armor when the door to the equipment room opened.

"Vegeta!" Nappa greeted, the relief clear in his voice. "We've been trying to reach you!"

The prince scowled but said nothing as he adjusted his armor. He had felt both Raditz and Nappa mentally prodding him to see if he was alright, and he had blocked them out. In his mind, they only cared because if he died, they would soon be next. Thinking of how useless they were without him angered him, and that anger was obvious as he looked up at them now.

"We saw Jhainer leaving earlier. We thought the worst," Raditz admitted.

"You thought wrong," Vegeta hatefully responded. Nappa and Raditz exchanged a confused look, not knowing what had the prince agitated. He looked unscathed for the most part. Finally, Nappa stepped up to the prince.

"So you made it on the squad, huh? That's fantastic, Vegeta!" Nappa laughed, patting the youngest Saiyan on the back. The prince's nose twitched a little at the contact, and Nappa swallowed a little before awkwardly removing his hand.

"It was only a matter of time, idiots," Vegeta gruffly said. "Nothing fantastic about it."

"Oh come on. You're the youngest to ever qualify! That deserves a celebration," Raditz chuckled. "So how about a female from the slave quarters? Someone to get you lighter on your feet before your first day? You can have one now."

Vegeta blinked a bit, forgetting his irritation with them. That was one perk he had forgotten about. He was still deemed too young to actually claim a slave for the night (he was just shy of the minimum age), but now that he had preliminary rank, he could bypass that rule. The sex slaves, consisting of males and females alike, were kept to be used whenever any of the men wanted, and some of the women weren't too hard on the eyes. The young prince had seen his share as Nappa and Raditz frequently took different women over the years, always leaving them in private so he wouldn't see what he always considered a disgusting act.

But now he was older. More of a man. With the changes in his body, came a change of perception. What was once a disgusting act in his eyes was now a tempting experience. He was especially intrigued by the idea that he could be man enough to have a female to himself, and make her submit willingly to him. The prince licked his lips, contemplating for a second, before nodding.

"If you can find me one that's been untouched by all these other fools…perhaps I can make some use of her," Vegeta finally agreed. He smirked a little in anticipation. "We've been given the night off. Might as well take advantage of it while it lasts."

"I'll be back then," Raditz said, smirking a little too. He turned and headed out to the slave quarters to find a female worthy of his prince while Nappa stayed behind with Vegeta.

"Everyone has been given the night off tonight," Nappa informed the young prince. "It doesn't feel right."

Vegeta looked bewildered. "The entire army? That's impossible."

"No, no, not the whole army. Just the men who were on base tonight. They're all down at the Ozo Tavern down southwest. If Raditz can't find a decent female for you, maybe we can go get some drinks there instead."

"Perhaps we can arrange time for both," Vegeta suggested, activating his scouter to see if he could detect who exactly was at the tavern. "It would be good to see who else is on the squad besides Jhainer, and size up the competition."

"I know Cui is one of them."

The prince's eye twitched in annoyance. He and Cui had been rivals since they were both small boys, and were almost dead equal in power. The only notable difference was that Cui was constantly sucking up to Frieza, whereas Vegeta just showed the bare minimum amount of respect so he wouldn't be killed. Cui was a slimeball, a sleaze who was even less trustworthy than the usual man in Frieza's army. He would have to keep a close eye on him.

"Do you know who the fourth man is?"

"No idea. We'll find out soon enough though."

Vegeta's scouter suddenly blinked to life. He reached up and picked up the transmission from Raditz.

"Vegeta, I found you a whore that hasn't been touched."

"Bring her to our quarters," Vegeta ordered, before cutting the line again. Nappa smirked a little in approval. This was the first time he was seeing Vegeta openly showing interest in having a female to himself, and he was grateful for that. It was good to see the prince experience something that didn't involve violence and brutality for once.

Vegeta's anticipation was growing as he headed back to his quarters with Nappa on his heels. He was already in the mood, and he was envisioning different female beauties who would be waiting for him. But when he rounded the last corner and saw the girl that Raditz was gripping by the arm, he crashed back down to reality.

"This is who you got?" Vegeta angrily demanded, stepping towards them before Raditz could enter their quarters.

"Well, she's the only one who was untouched," Raditz explained, looking down at the small alien girl who was practically shaking with terror. The girl's body was silver and shiny, like she was made of metal. She was wearing dirty rags that barely covered her.

Vegeta reached out to grab her other arm, hauling her closer to him. The girl gave a cry of terror, but he was uncaring as his eyes swept over her small frame. Her dark purple hair was dirty, and there were bruises on her body from several beatings. His eyes finally raised to meet her wide, terrified black ones. He scoffed.

"This girl is nothing but a child. She doesn't even seem half my age," Vegeta sneered in disgust. She barely reached his shoulders, and he was already short for his age.

"The girl is a little younger than you, true, but not by much," Raditz tried reasoning. "No other man has had her yet. She's perfect for you."

"I don't want a damn _girl_ ," Vegeta spat out hatefully. "I'm a man now, and I want a woman. Or is that too hard to understand?"

"But there was no one else, Vegeta," Raditz said, almost pleading. He swallowed a bit as he remembered that the regeneration tanks were down, and any lashing out by the prince would probably kill him without the ability to heal quickly afterwards.

"Hn. So be it then."

Vegeta effortlessly launched the young girl to the opposite wall with barely a flick of his arm. She shrieked in pain after colliding with a sickening thud against the wall. The sound of agony was quickly silenced when Vegeta raised a palm in her direction and fired, the light from his ki flashing through the corridor. When the light was gone, the only thing left of the girl was a darkened spot on the wall where Vegeta's ki had burned through.

"Well," Nappa casually started, as though nothing had just happened. "Since Raditz apparently has poor taste, I can go take a look around the slave quarters, Vegeta. Find someone more suitable for a prince."

"Forget it," Vegeta gruffly dismissed the notion with a wave of his hand. He turned on his heel and started walking away, with Nappa and Raditz quickly following after him. "Let's go to the Ozo Tavern. The night is young yet."

* * *

A few hours later, the Saiyans were sitting together at a small table against the wall of the only tavern on Frieza's base planet. It was exclusively for Frieza's soldiers, which was the primary reason why Vegeta hated going there. He much preferred going to another specific tavern on a different planet run by an old associate of his named Uvi, where few knew who he was, and where he rarely knew anyone else. Here, at the Ozo Tavern, none of that was true.

Still, he wanted to spot who the fourth man in the squad was going to be. Looking around, he saw Cui on the opposite side of the tavern, chugging down drinks with other soldiers while they all laughed and cracked crude jokes. Jhainer was nowhere to be seen. The prince scowled, surveying the tavern again. There was a fight going on in the far corner, a small scuffle between two drunk soldiers. In another corner, two men were engaged in blatant, heated sex. Vegeta purposely avoided looking in that direction. No one else besides Cui was wearing the armor and cape that he was wearing. It seemed the fourth man wasn't there.

"I don't think it's that big a deal," Vegeta heard Raditz saying. He finally turned his attention back to his men as Raditz continued, "We deserve a night off for a change. It doesn't mean anything."

"Don't you remember the last time Frieza gave _everyone_ on base the night off?" Nappa questioned, getting Vegeta's attention.

"I don't remember that," the prince said with a frown. "When the hell was this?"

Raditz leaned back, chugging down his entire mug of a dark green alcoholic beverage. Nappa exhaled slowly, before turning back to the prince.

"We hadn't been here for long. You were still a boy. He gave us all the night off, but you were in the regeneration tank recovering from a beating Frieza gave you. Raditz and I stayed with you, but the next day, half of the men on base were summoned by Zarbon and killed. I remember how weird it felt at the time. It feels like that now."

"Sounds like coincidence to me," Vegeta offered with a shrug, already dismissing the tale as unimportant as he scanned over the tavern again, looking for another black cape.

"Ha! See? Vegeta agrees with me," Raditz boasted loudly, making Nappa growl. "Oh, don't be mad, bald man. One day one of us will agree with your conspiracy theories-"

"Who is that?" Vegeta suddenly interrupted. His fellow Saiyans followed his line of sight, not seeing anyone special.

"Who?" Nappa asked, trying to see who could be of interest. "Thonzin? He's a new recruit-"

"No, not him. _Her._ "

Vegeta nodded towards the only female in the entire tavern, who was busy scrambling around, trying to keep about forty drunk soldiers satiated with drinks and food. It was hard for him to guess the female's age, but for sure, she looked older than the slave girl he had killed earlier that night. Her skin was a pale green, but what caught Vegeta's immediate attention were the long, powerful looking wings that ran down the entire length of her back. The wings were folded in place, looking like part of her clothes from a distance, but he could tell the difference. They looked like they would have an impressive wing span if she stretched them out. He was mesmerized by the pattern of green and blue feathers on her wings. It was artistic, and coupled with her thick feminine legs, he was captivated.

"Oh, the woman," Raditz chuckled knowingly. He and Nappa both smirked at the look on Vegeta's face while he stared at the female alien from behind. "I don't know her name, but she is half Legan."

"Half aerial warrior," Vegeta mumbled, his attraction increasing exponentially just at the thought that she might have a warrior's blood in her veins. And he hadn't even seen her face yet.

"You should go introduce yourself," Nappa suggested. "Get your hands on her before anyone else does."

Raditz' smirk disappeared, and he looked down into his drink. "Actually, that might not be a great idea."

Vegeta finally tore his eyes away from the female to look over at the Saiyan sitting on his left. "Why not? What do you know?" the prince demanded, making Raditz shrug uncomfortably.

"I don't know for sure, but I overheard Manzin saying a while back that the new female worker here was his."

"She belongs to Manzin?" Vegeta asked, looking back at the woman as she hurried towards the back to get more alcoholic beverages. He scowled; he still hadn't seen the female from the front.

"Sounds like it."

"Hn. Well, in that case - now I simply _must_ go introduce myself."

Vegeta smoothly got up, and went over in the direction he saw the mysterious winged female walk off in, ignoring Raditz calling out to him that this wasn't a good idea. He dodged the others in the tavern easily, and then frowned when he got to the front counter. The woman was nowhere to be seen. Finally, the prince sat on a levitating slab of marble close to the counter.

Despite his confident stroll over there, the back of Vegeta's neck was tingling with sweat as he realized he had no idea what to say to the female when she appeared. He had very little experience actually talking to a woman without threatening her life or her family's life for some reason or another. Raditz was the smoothest of the three Saiyans; though he wasn't above taking a woman by force, he was quite skilled in getting any woman he wanted, to do whatever he wanted. But Vegeta's pride refused to allow him to ask Raditz for advice, so there he was, wondering what approach to take.

The young prince straightened up when the woman finally emerged through a curtain of lights that led to the back. Her eyes stood out to him first, a hypnotic and reptilian blue. She wasn't blessed with the largest breasts he'd ever seen, and she only had a few long spikes of dark green hair that fell down over the side of her face. But Vegeta was immediately attracted to her nonetheless, already imagining her pinned underneath him, with her flimsy little white straps of clothes gone from her body while they both worked up a good sweat.

The woman placed a drink in front of a higher ranked soldier a few seats down from Vegeta, and then she finally came to stand in front of the Saiyan prince.

"What would you like to drink?" she asked him, casually leaning her hands on the counter. Her voice was very sensual. He already liked it. "Some more of what you and your men ordered earlier?"

Vegeta said nothing, blinking as he stared at her. She blinked back at him for a few seconds, and then sighed, assuming he was far too drunk to speak. The woman went to turn away when Vegeta finally snapped out of it.

"Wait. Do you know who I am, female?" the prince asked, leaning forward in curiosity.

She paused. Her reptilian eyes shifted past him, before she hesitantly answered, "Yes. You're one of the Saiyans. Vegeta, right?"

"That's right. I'm not just any Saiyan though. I'm the Prince of all Saiyans," Vegeta boasted, thinking that would impress her enough to get her somewhere private.

"That's quite nice," she meekly offered, clearly trying to back away from him, which made the prince scowl. He wasn't even trying to frighten her, and she looked terrified.

"I'm not going to kill you," Vegeta tried reassuring her, before flashing a cocky smirk. "I was granted preliminary rank today in Frieza's powerful army. It's a tremendous feat for someone my age, so I'm in a very good mood-"

"Congratulations, that's extraordinary! You know what, I think I'll go get you and your men some more drinks," she interrupted, making the young prince frown. Before the teenager could get another word out, she had already practically dashed through the curtain of lights again.

Vegeta growled, and went to stand up to go after her, when a very strong orange hand landed on his shoulder and forced him back down. The prince glared straight ahead, already knowing who was next to him before he looked. That smell was unmistakable.

"Vegeta," a terse voice greeted.

"Manzin," the Saiyan responded evenly.

He didn't move, even though he saw the other soldier sit down right next to him out of the corner of his eye. The prince frowned though when he saw the black cape attached to Manzin's silver armor set. The fourth man. Of course. He looked forward and inwardly sighed. It was just his luck that one of Frieza's men who hated him the most was the last man on the squad. Vegeta's icy relationship with Manzin made Cui seem like the prince's best friend.

"She's a beauty, isn't she? Her name is Aradeen."

Vegeta scoffed. "You say that like I care."

"It looked like you cared before I came over here. You're making a habit of taking things that don't belong to you, Saiyan. Aradeen is my woman, not yours. And the last spot on the rank qualifying squad was Wygen's, not yours."

"Wygen committed suicide. The spot is mine now. I imagine the fool is too dead to reclaim it."

Vegeta forced himself not to move when he felt Manzin's hand mockingly tugging at the back of his cape. The prince growled low in his throat in warning, making the other soldier chuckle.

"I heard about what happened with Tanus, so I'm just curious, Saiyan. How did you manage to survive against Frieza? Why are you always spared, hmm? Why are you his favorite, when you're so pathetically weak?"

Vegeta's head snapped to the soldier sitting next to him, his eyes narrowed dangerously. His pride and his strength were all he had in this life, and he did not appreciate either being insulted. He glared at Manzin, who had eyes that changed colors rapidly depending on his mood and his thoughts. Right now, his eyes were cold black slits. That corresponded with hatred. It was the only look Vegeta ever saw from him.

"We'll see if you're calling me weak when I rip your heart out after I earn rank, Manzin," Vegeta snarled venomously, his eyes shining with his own hatred.

"Go ahead and try," Manzin challenged, before motioning with his chin towards the back of the tavern. Vegeta turned his head just far enough to see through his peripheral vision. He grunted when he saw Manzin's older brother standing against the wall, arms crossed over his armor while he stared right at them. "I have some backup."

"So do I," Vegeta countered, glancing towards where Nappa and Raditz were seated. Both Saiyans were staring right at them, watching the whole thing and ready to step in.

"My brother is a rank 3 man. He can kill you and your men in his sleep."

"Oh? And where was your brother when the Saiyans purged your pathetic planet long ago?" Vegeta sneered.

Manzin immediately stood up, and so did Vegeta, both of them braced for a fight. The older of the two hissed, his forked tongue flicking out of his mouth under sharp looking yellow fangs. He had short black hair on his head that looked more like fur on his tough orange skin; that hair ran down the back of his neck and coated the back of his arms and hands. In Manzin's rage, his hair was bristling and standing on end. Vegeta had one hand pulled back, his fingers twitching as he prepared to summon his ki at a moment's notice.

But they both hesitated in striking first. Whoever struck first would be punished, with the other absolved in self-defense. Neither wanted to limp into training the next morning, already bruised and beaten before the day even started. Nor was either aware that they had the complete attention of the entire tavern now. Nappa and Raditz in particular were on their feet now, tense for battle.

"You dare mock the purging and destruction of my planet at the hands of your filthy race?" Manzin snarled, barely able to keep hold of his rage.

Vegeta smirked. "My only regret is that I was far too young to participate in that purge. I would have loved slaughtering your family myself."

"I still have my brother. Who do you have, Vegeta?" Manzin demanded, tremendously pleased when he saw Vegeta's smirk disappear. A look of unhinged rage crossed the young Saiyan's features, and more than thirty scouters lit up in response. Manzin chuckled, knowing he had hit a sore spot and delighting in that knowledge.

"Oh, that's right. I heard about the fate of your parents. Just between us – who do you think screamed more in their last moments? Your father, or your mother? Actually, it must have been your mother, right? I heard they raped her before they finally killed her-"

Nappa and Raditz both immediately phased in, grabbing their infuriated prince from behind, just in time to prevent him from lunging at Manzin.

_Don_ _'_ _t,_ _Vegeta._ _He_ _'_ _s_ _just_ _baiting_ _you_ _so_ _you_ _'_ _ll_ _be_ _at_ _a_ _disadvantage,_ Nappa sent, using nearly all of his strength to keep Vegeta at bay with Raditz doing the same. Even then, the prince could have easily broken free. But he stopped struggling when he heard Nappa's logic, even though he was shaking with rage.

Manzin chuckled again, and smiled, his forked tongue flicking out again. "It doesn't matter, I suppose. Neither will top how loud their son screams when I finally destroy the last Prince of the Saiyans-"

"What the hell is going on here?" Zarbon's voice rang out angrily. Everyone suddenly turned to the tavern entrance, where Frieza's lieutenant was now striding in, his white cape flowing out behind him. Nappa and Raditz promptly let go of Vegeta, who was now giving Zarbon his full attention, as was Manzin. Zarbon eyed everyone over carefully, before coming over to stand in front of the two young soldiers at the heart of all the conflict. "Didn't you two fools hear my instructions?"

"My apologies, Zarbon," Manzin immediately said. His eyes were wide and purple now with fear as he bowed his head in respect. Zarbon shifted his eyes to Vegeta, who just glared back at him. Zarbon snorted, and then turned around.

"Everyone, back to base immediately!" he ordered. "Your night is done."

Soldiers were grumbling, some barely able to stand, but they all quickly did as they were told. Manzin shot Vegeta one last hateful glance, his black eyes promising misery for the prince if he gained his rank. He then motioned with his head for his brother to come with him, and they both left the tavern.

Finally, only Zarbon and three Saiyans remained. Zarbon slowly turned back to look at Vegeta, and cracked a smirk. The prince smirked back.

"Good to see that you're still alive, Saiyan," Zarbon smoothly drawled.

"Good to be alive, Trikan," Vegeta chuckled, his anger now gone. "You're going to get a good thrashing for that, though."

"Well," Zarbon started, right before a soft yellow beam of light ran from his head down to his feet. When the light was gone, Jhainer was standing in his place, also dressed in the silver set of armor with the black cape, his scaly, blue tail rising up behind him. A slow grin spread over Jhainer's face. " _Technically_ , I was helping enforce Zarbon's rules."

Vegeta cocked an eyebrow. "But in reality?"

"In reality, I didn't want you or Manzin getting a beating too soon," Jhainer spoke in his soft voice. "I want you both at one hundred percent going in, so when I win my rank, my victory will be that much sweeter."

"Hn. We shall see about that."

"I'm curious though. How did you know it was me?"

Vegeta glanced at Nappa, who answered, "You can impersonate in appearance and voice. But you can't do it in scent. Zarbon stinks, and you don't."

Jhainer laughed softly, before nodding. "Very useful information. Thank you, Nappa."

"Don't mention it."

Jhainer turned back to the youngest Saiyan, and gave him a nod of respect. "I don't wish you harm, Vegeta. But, I _will_ earn my rank, no matter the cost. If it means your death in the process, then I won't hesitate. I hope you understand."

Vegeta nodded back. Though he wouldn't call Jhainer a friend, he wouldn't call him an enemy either. And in their world, that was the closest anyone ever came to friendship.

"The same goes for you, Jhainer. If I have to kill you to get what I need, then so be it."

"So be it, indeed," the young Trikan agreed, turning and walking away. "See you tomorrow, 080X."

"Hn."

The prince waited until he saw the flash of Jhainer's ki ignite around him outside, before the other boy blasted off into the air. Vegeta then headed out of the tavern, stepping into the night air with Nappa and Raditz flanking him.

"Do you think we can trust Jhainer, Vegeta?" Raditz wondered aloud.

"A little, but not too much," Vegeta cautioned. "His shape shifting ability could be deadly if he wished it so. From now on, we will confirm first that we are truly speaking to each other," he said, tapping his temple to signify the use of telepathy. His Saiyan comrades nodded their agreement.

"Hey Vegeta, how did it go with that chick, before Manzin interrupted everything?" Nappa curiously asked.

Vegeta growled at the reminder of that failure. He shot Nappa a glare. "Shut up, Nappa! We have more important things ahead than some useless female slave! Now let's go back to base. Zarbon said this will be our last break for a while. Might as well get rest while we can."

Even though the Saiyans went back to their room and turned off the light to sleep, the prince remained awake long into the night, staring up at the ceiling. Vegeta's mind was filled with visions of him moving up in rank, until he was stronger than anyone else in Frieza's army. Then the day would come when he would be stronger than Frieza himself. He would then kill Frieza and his family, and then rise up to take his place as leader of the universe. The thought brought a small smile to his face. He would have power, women, glory in battle. He would have it all.

The young prince finally fell asleep after a few hours, looking forward to the next day for the first time in years.


	4. First Day

It was pitch black in the Saiyan quarters. Vegeta was facedown, only in his blue uniform pants, his green scouter pushed up awkwardly on his face while he snored softly. He had settled into a deep sleep only twenty minutes ago after restlessly waking up every half hour or so. Frieza's base was dead silent, with more than half the men passed out in their quarters from their drinking. It could almost pass as peaceful.

It didn't last long.

All three Saiyans suddenly sat up when an alarm started blasting all throughout base, loud enough so that only the dead wouldn't notice it. That alarm was only sounded during the rare times when Frieza was summoning all of his men, and being late was usually a death sentence. And they were already late by Frieza's standards. Vegeta cursed as they all shot up to their feet and hastily began getting dressed.

"Shit! Where's my scouter!" Raditz yelled in dismay as Nappa quickly yanked a boot on while hopping on one leg.

"You better find it!" Vegeta growled, pulling his armor down before snatching up his white gloves. "Full uniform, imbecile!"

"It was right here-!"

"No time!" Nappa snapped.

He hadn't gotten both words out before Vegeta bolted out the door, though Nappa was soon right on his heels. They easily merged with the herd of soldiers running straight towards the Cold Gathering Chamber, the largest room on base. Though Vegeta had no idea why Frieza was summoning them, he already knew that it wouldn't be good. It was never good. Without wanting to, his mind drifted to Nappa's feeling of unease the night before. He chanced a quick glance over his shoulder. Nappa was right behind him, as was Raditz, but the latter was missing a scouter. It seemed Raditz had decided that the punishment for not being in full uniform was preferable to being late.

Vegeta slowed down just a little bit, until he was running next to another soldier – a short, stocky yellow alien, with long white hair, already out of breath from the short run. Obviously unranked, being in such poor condition. An easy target.

The Saiyan prince made a swift, impulsive decision, and suddenly attacked, striking him hard in the side of the head with a closed fist. The alien shrieked out in surprise, knocked completely off course as he stumbled and came to a crashing stop on the floor, making the men running behind him nearly topple over him. Vegeta easily snatched the red scouter that flew off the other soldier's face when he fell, and then tossed it over his shoulder to Raditz, who caught it effortlessly and slipped it on.

A few seconds later, and the Saiyans finally ran into the Cold Gathering Chamber, as some of Frieza's lieutenants screamed at them all to line up properly. All of the soldiers lined up in neat, ordered lines, in order by rank. Vegeta lined up in the last row, with Nappa and Raditz each on either side of him. As soon as they did, the large metallic doors behind them slid shut and the blasting alarm finally stopped.

Vegeta swallowed heavily, staring straight ahead. He knew just by sight alone that almost a quarter of Frieza's men were on the wrong side of those metallic doors. The thought hadn't been completely formed in his mind, when he heard the screaming outside of the chamber. The slaughter scream. He knew it intimately. It seemed that the punishment for being late this morning was a painful death, which provided a glimpse into Frieza's mood.

The young prince subtly glanced around, catching a still hung-over soldier being forcefully dragged out of the room to join the slaughter. Armor, boots, and scouter were always required when meeting Frieza, and this particular alien was lacking his scouter. Death seemed to be the punishment for that too. The soldier was screaming for forgiveness for the minor transgression. The screams grew muffled when he was dragged from the room, and then ended altogether. Vegeta looked ahead again, but he could feel furious eyes on him. It hadn't escaped his attention that the soldier whose scouter he had stolen wasn't in attendance. Not that he cared that he had inadvertently sentenced the man to death. Better he die than Raditz, after all.

Finally, all the screams were silenced. Frieza casually strolled out from a side entrance, followed by Zarbon, and then Dodoria. When he came to a stop in front of his men, they all simultaneously lowered to one knee. Everyone was tense with fear though no one dared show it. The tyrant looked everyone over, his cold eyes unreadable.

"I was generous last night, granting you all the night off to rest. It seems some men thought that rest extended over into today. I'm sure you all heard what happened to them, and we will leave their bodies in the corridors for the rest of the day as a kind reminder that tardiness is unacceptable. When I summon you all here, I expect you all to be here on time, and dressed appropriately. I will not tolerate anything less. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Lord Frieza," everyone obediently replied in unison.

"Glad we cleared that up then," Frieza deadpanned, his tail whipping behind him betraying his irritation. Vegeta lowered his head to avoid eye contact when the tyrant looked in his direction. He was far from the only soldier who did so. Frieza slowly began walking along the front, studying each man, as though taking inventory of those who were dead outside the doors.

"It has come to my attention that the men in Cooler's ranks outscored all of my men in every meaningful category in the annual reports for my father. I cannot express my disappointment in this, and we will work to remedy these deficiencies effective immediately. My Galactic Army is superior to any other military force in the entire universe, _especially_ my brother's, and it's time we begin raising our standard again."

Vegeta and Nappa subtly exchanged a wary look. That didn't sound good for anyone.

"From now on, there will be a zero-tolerance policy for failure of any kind, or any lack of discipline. Punishment will be severe for anyone who tries my patience, so I don't recommend it. The weak will eventually be weeded out of the ranks, and fresh blood will soon be brought in to replace them. Zarbon is preparing various recruitment missions, which most of you will receive in the coming days.

"But please, don't think I don't genuinely care about each and every one of you. This is a nurturing environment, and I want you all to excel here and reach your full potential. As such, I will make sure there is enough food provided every day for all of you, and that the regeneration tanks are upgraded with the latest equipment for faster healing. In addition, after the completion of ten assignments in a row, each of you will have one night off to do as you please. These changes on my part show my commitment to each of you. I expect the same commitment in return. Understood?"

"Yes, Lord Frieza."

"Excellent. The last order of business is the kind man in the back."

Everyone turned around, and just a few feet behind Raditz was one of Frieza's technicians. The alien was a black beast, hunched over and spikes emerging all over his furry body. He would have looked menacing were it not for the terror in his three wide gray eyes. He raised one hand up, showing a strange device Vegeta didn't recognize.

"His name is Rion, and each of you will meet with him for a few seconds on your way out. The device in his hand will give us a deeper reading on your psychological states. Those who have a score under 40 percent, report to Zarbon after this. In a show of my good faith, we will tailor a plan for each of you to help you with any mental deficiencies. Hopefully with all of these changes, you can all prove that you are better than all of Cooler's men combined. Dismissed."

"Psychological states?" Nappa whispered to Vegeta as they both stood up and got in line to meet with Rion. Since they were already in the back, they would be one of the first to be tested. "What does that even mean?"

"I don't know," Vegeta admitted, frowning as he recalled his personal evaluation with Shimdro. He specifically recalled the shock on the round alien's face with some of his answers to the psychological questions. That wasn't a good sign.

"I think he's referring to suicidal tendencies," Jhainer's soft voice spoke from behind him.

The Saiyans all looked back, and Vegeta blinked a bit at the sight of the young Trikan. Though trying valiantly to hide it, Jhainer was clearly in a substantial amount of pain. He couldn't quite keep the grimace out of his features, and his walking was more like awkward, painful shuffling. More telling, his long, thorny tail was being dragged behind him, like he didn't have the strength to raise it.

"What the hell happened to you?" Raditz asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Fell off my cot this morning," Jhainer replied, an edge to his usually gentle voice.

Vegeta snorted in disbelief. "Got a thrashing from Zarbon for that stunt you pulled, didn't you?"

Jhainer fell in line right behind Vegeta. He then directed his one-eyed white stare directly onto the prince. "Manzin figured out what I did," he softly admitted. "Ratted me out to Zarbon. But don't get too excited, Saiyan. It won't slow me down today."

"I wouldn't count on it, Trikan."

"Anyways, you remember what Shimdro told Frieza, don't you, Vegeta? About the suicide rates being high? Well, while Zarbon was taking a break from beating the life out of me, I overheard him and Dodoria talking. Turns out the suicide rate for Cooler's men is practically zero. You know that probably angered Lord Frieza quite a bit."

Vegeta frowned thoughtfully, and looked towards the front of the line, where Raditz now was. The Saiyan had to bend down to Rion, who put the device up to his eye that wasn't covered with a scouter. He held it there for a few seconds, and then the device beeped. Raditz looked at his number, and then stepped out, pausing to wait for his fellow Saiyans. Nappa stepped up next.

"What if the damn thing doesn't even work and gives the wrong number by mistake?" Vegeta whispered, looking over his shoulder at Jhainer.

"I don't think it matters," the other boy quietly answered. "He said he wouldn't kill anyone over it, unless he's willing to kill over half the men here…"

_Raditz and I stayed with you, but the next day, half of the men on base were summoned by Zarbon and killed…_

Vegeta looked away as he remembered Nappa's words from the night before. But there was nothing he could do if this little machine output the wrong number. After Nappa was done, the prince stepped forward, and remained perfectly still while Rion put the device up to his eye. It was a dark cylinder with a blinking blue light at the end. The blinking stopped, an uncomfortably bright light scanned Vegeta's eye.

He pulled away and checked the number: 48.

Vegeta exhaled in relief, and then walked out of the Cold Gathering Chamber – only to be greeted by the sight of the morning's massacre. There were body limbs thrown about, blood splattering the otherwise pristine walls. The prince's nose twitched at the sight of all the gore. These men had worked hard for Frieza for a long time, and this was how they died. A not-so-subtle reminder that their lives meant nothing, and that one day he might be splattered over the walls too.

"Thanks for earlier, Vegeta," Raditz genuinely said. Vegeta just grunted with indifference as other soldiers trickled out behind him. He didn't care for either Raditz or Nappa, but he was still thankful there was no Saiyan blood painting the walls. There weren't many Saiyans around anymore, after all.

"What time is it?" Vegeta demanded, looking over at Nappa.

"0709. You still have a little time."

"Probably not," the prince grumbled, warily looking back over at the bloodied wall next to him. "Punctuality is the theme of the day."

"You probably want to leave soon," Raditz said, his hand on his activated scouter. He looked off to the side. "Dodoria's already on the move. He's heading south. Guess that's where it starts."

"Yes," Jhainer chimed in, finally shuffling over to the Saiyans. "He mentioned that to Zarbon this morning when they were talking. Training is on the south end."

Vegeta's face remained indifferent, but his tail tightened around his waist. Almost no one ventured over to the south end of the planet, and for good reason. It was freezing cold there. But if that was where they had to go, then so be it.

"Vegeta," Jhainer's voice cut into his thoughts. The teenaged prince shot him an impatient glare. "We could help each other for the early parts. Be allies."

"Your offer is unnecessary, Jhainer. I don't need help," Vegeta scoffed in disgust. Almost on cue, Manzin and his brother walked past them, both of them eyeing the Saiyan prince with pure contempt. Vegeta sneered at them threateningly.

Jhainer chuckled. "Very well. Have it your way. If you're leaving now, I'll leave with you."

"Fine. I need fresh air anyways," Vegeta grumbled, turning around and walking off down the hall. He nonchalantly kicked aside the severed head of the soldier he had punched earlier. Jhainer followed him, managing to keep pace despite his injuries while stepping around the corpses.

"We're going to see what Zarbon has for us to do, then we'll be over to watch," Raditz called out to Vegeta. The prince just gave an indifferent wave of his hand, not turning around. The competitions were open and anyone was allowed to watch, but it didn't matter to him if Raditz and Nappa were there to see.

"We have just enough time to make it there," Jhainer said, activating his scouter over his good eye once they stepped outside. "Manzin and his brother are already on their way."

"Yes, and Cui is back with Frieza," Vegeta noted, his scouter activated and running too as he glanced back at base.

"Shall we?"

"Hn," Vegeta levitated a little bit into the air. "Try to keep up, Trikan," he taunted, before his powerful blue ki ignited around him.

The prince then blasted off into the sky, heading straight towards the south end of the planet. His scouter beeped as Jhainer immediately followed him. Vegeta didn't look behind him, but he followed Jhainer's distance on the scouter, prepared to defend himself if the Trikan dared attack him from behind. But seconds passed into minutes, and no attack came. Vegeta didn't let his guard down, but he slowly relaxed a little. Moreover, he was impressed Jhainer could keep up with him despite his injuries.

The prince reached up to his scouter, and rotated the display to the current time. He would be early at this rate, and have time to kill. A smirk tugged on his lips as he deactivated his scouter completely, and then he diverged in his path. Jhainer froze in midair, confusion in his good eye as he watched Vegeta head off towards the southwest.

"What are you doing? You're going to be late!" Jhainer shouted after him. But Vegeta ignored him, or maybe didn't hear him at all. The young Trikan grunted a little and shook his head. "Crazy Saiyan," he muttered, before resuming his flight towards the south end.

Several minutes later, Vegeta landed in front of the Ozo Tavern. Like he suspected, none of Frieza's men were there. But that didn't mean the place was deserted. He subtly peeked in through the dirty window, and caught movement inside. The Saiyan withdrew so he was out of sight, and then made sure his black cape was properly secured to his silver armor set. He then ran both hands up into his flamed hair, as though trying to tame it as best he could. When he was satisfied, he walked into the tavern.

Aradeen was busy vigorously scrubbing the floor, grumbling things under her breath regarding drunk soldiers. The pale green skin on her hands, so soft and untainted before she was offered up to Frieza, was getting more and more calloused each day. But, there were worse fates for women in Frieza's service. Between being raped continuously every day for the rest of her life, and serving drunk and obnoxious soldiers, she tried not to complain.

But she couldn't quite keep the flash of exasperation off her face when a pair of white boots settled right in front of her, dirtying the floor she was busy cleaning. Aradeen slowly looked up and made eye contact with Vegeta as he smirked down at her.

"Yes?" she warily asked, her discomfort clear. Manzin had threatened her with her life if she even looked at the youngest Saiyan, but how could she not look at him now? He was the only one there, and he would probably kill her outright if she disrespected him by ignoring him.

"We were rudely interrupted last night, so I don't remember if I told you, but today's my first day of training to earn rank," Vegeta boasted, his arms crossed over his silver armor. "I thought perhaps you would want to wish me good luck beforehand, slave."

"Oh. Yes. Good luck," Aradeen easily replied, trying her best not to show her fear of him. She reached over to pick up her cleaning rag again, when Vegeta kicked it out of her reach.

"And just so we're clear," Vegeta casually said, slowly squatting down in front of her. He leaned in close to her, intrigued when she didn't flinch away from him. "Manzin's days are numbered. I'm going to kill him sooner rather than later. And once he's dead, perhaps…I can get a little more from you than _good luck_."

"I think you should go…" Aradeen uncomfortably said, looking away from those intense dark eyes. "You don't want to be late on your first day of training."

Vegeta grunted, scrutinizing her delicate facial features. Now he understood why Raditz and Nappa sometimes took women by force. Doing it any other way would take time. But damn, would it be rewarding to see the look on Manzin's face if he got this woman to willingly give herself to him. The prince smirked, and slowly stood up.

"Yes. I don't want to be late," the prince agreed. "And you might want to think about what I said. This is quite an honor for you, after all. I will be a rank 5 man soon, but you will always be a slave girl. Don't forget that." As though to prove his point, Vegeta shoved the container of cleaning fluid over with his boot, spilling it onto the floor. He chuckled at the flash of anger in Aradeen's eyes, though she wisely bit her tongue. "Get back to work, girl. I'll see you soon."

Aradeen glared at his back as Vegeta walked out, shaking her head while she resumed her cleaning. The prince didn't notice as he quickly took to the air, moving as fast as he could to make it to his training on time. He couldn't resist the smirk creeping over his face though. He had hopefully put the slave girl in her place, made her realize how fortunate she was that someone of his power was even looking her way. Soon, he would have her. She would be his personal reward after earning his rank.

It was growing colder and colder the closer he got to the south end. Vegeta grit his teeth as the temperature shifted. It was eating away through his uniform on his arms and his legs, chilling his skin rapidly with his flying speed and forcing him to raise his ki as high as he could to stay warm.

A few minutes later, Vegeta landed where the rest of the squad was. He was the last one to arrive, and lined up next to Jhainer, who just shook his head at him. Manzin leaned in closer to Cui, and whispered something to him. Cui smirked and nodded. The prince frowned, more concerned with the ground than his competition. It was some black, cold, slippery substance, laid out over ice. Unreliable, difficult to get traction with his boots. It was also much colder here than Vegeta had anticipated. Every breath he released was visible in the frigid air.

"You're late, Saiyan," Dodoria's angry voice called out, immediately getting Vegeta's attention. The prince scowled and checked his scouter, looking at the time.

"No, I'm not," he argued. "I'm early-"

"You're the last one to arrive," Dodoria cut in. He slowly walked up in front of them, coming to a stop in front of Vegeta. "That means you're _late_ , monkey boy. I'll see that Zarbon punishes you for that later."

Vegeta clenched his fists, but stayed silent. Dodoria walked backwards for a bit, as though taking them each in.

"Alright boys, I'm sure you all know the rules," he finally began. "Zarbon should've briefed you on the basics, so we'll skip that. The way this works is simple. Every day there is training. You are only excused from training if Zarbon or Lord Frieza gives you an assignment, or you are in a regen tank. Every few days, instead of training, there will be a competition. Win a competition, get a point. Zero points for anything other than first place. Can't show up to a competition because you got an assignment, or you're recovering in a tank? You get zero points. First man to five points will be upgraded to rank 5. You all got it, or is anyone too stupid to understand?"

No one said anything. Dodoria nodded in approval.

"Good then. Because even though it sounds easy, the competitions aren't going to be easy. Each of you can fire ki; big deal. A backwards child can fire ki. Your fighting skills are also a joke on the whole. The goal is to improve all your skills. You'll learn how to handle a variety of weapons. You'll learn infiltration techniques. You'll learn survival skills in the wilderness of a planet you don't know. You'll learn everything you need to handle all kinds of assignments that come with high rank.

"Now, on average, one person dies every time I run this damn thing. That means there's a 25 percent chance each of you is already a corpse. Anyone want to step down?"

Everyone shook their head. Vegeta looked off to the side as more and more soldiers began coming by, forming a sloppy semi-circle behind the four young soldiers. The first day was always the most popular. He doubted any would be there in the end.

"Good. Then let's get started," Dodoria muttered in boredom, taking a bite of something green and crunchy in one hand while he studied a black device in his other hand. When it beeped, he tossed aside what he was eating and reached up to his scouter, activated it, and looked at the teenaged Saiyan. "Gotta log power levels before we start. How strong are you, monkey prince?"

"Stronger than these three, certainly," came the cocky reply.

"We'll see about that…7,100 for Vegeta."

Dodoria entered the number, before directing his scouter to Jhainer. The young Trikan was standing straight, holding his tail up behind him while he stared emotionlessly at Dodoria. The scouter ran, and then beeped.

"7,000 for Jhainer," Dodoria announced, nodding as he logged it. He then redirected his scouter to Manzin as Vegeta caught Jhainer's eye.

"Weakling," the prince whispered, smirking arrogantly. Jhainer chuckled softly and looked ahead again.

"7,500 for Manzin," Dodoria called out. Vegeta's smirk disappeared, and his nose twitched as he glared at the older boy on the other side of Jhainer. Manzin's chest puffed out with pride as he stared straight ahead, his eyes now a bright blue as a grin tugged on the corner of his mouth. Vegeta wondered what color his eyes would become when he was dead.

"And 7,050 for Cui," Dodoria droned on, logging the data in.

"Least I'm not the weakest one here," Cui laughed loudly. Jhainer gave him a look that could have killed.

"Quiet, boy. We'll see which of you is truly weak today," Dodoria snapped, making Cui's laughter immediately stop. "Now because today is the first day and it's oh so special, we're going to start with a competition. That means one of you lucky bastards will get a point right off the bat. Follow me," he ordered, before turning around and leisurely walking away from them.

The four boys behind him quickly followed suit. Even though Vegeta tried remaining apart, Manzin easily wound up walking next to him. Vegeta scowled as Cui came up on his other side.

"What's going on with your punctuality, Vegeta? If you're that eager for Zarbon to knock your teeth down your throat, you could have just asked me," Manzin snidely remarked. "I would've done you the favor, free of charge. I'm stronger than you, after all."

"Ahhh, he thinks he's too good to play by the rules," Cui snorted. "Taking advantage of Lord Frieza liking you, aren't you, Vegeta?"

"Actually, fish-head, I was taking advantage of someone else liking me," Vegeta calmly said, glancing at Manzin out of the corner of his eye. "A female, to be exact."

"Is that so?" Manzin growled, his blue eyes changing until they were black slits as his hair stood on end. Vegeta shrugged nonchalantly, but he couldn't keep the smirk off his face. "And who was this female?"

"I seem to have forgotten her name," Vegeta innocently said, his smirk spreading. "How rude of me. I'll ask her after she's done screaming my name."

Manzin looked beyond irate as he visibly contemplated whether a fight right now with Vegeta would be worth the punishment he'd receive later. Before he could decide, though, Dodoria called them to attention. The four young soldiers lined up properly as Dodoria addressed them again.

"Each of you has been given a different device to enhance your skills. The first competition is to retrieve your device. Whoever retrieves it first will earn a point. All four devices have been hidden here." Dodoria gestured behind him, and was met with four confused stares. Dodoria sighed, rolling his eyes. "Goddamned stupid kids," he growled under his breath. "Look down!"

They all did, and then saw that the black slippery substance stopped right behind Dodoria. Then there was a large, seemingly bottomless stretch of dark liquid. It could have been water, but it was hard to tell. Vegeta tried getting some smell from it, but he got nothing.

"Vegeta's color is blue. Jhainer, white. Manzin, red. And Cui, green. Your device will have a blinking light attached with your color on it. They've all been hidden well, so I hope you can all swim," Dodoria laughed sadistically. "Everyone understand?"

"Yes," they all responded, nodding.

"Good. Now strip down. No armor, no boots, no gloves, no scouters. Hurry up!" Dodoria yelled at them as they each quickly stripped to just their uniform pants, even though he himself was dressed in extra uniform layers to keep himself warm.

Vegeta grit his teeth when he felt the cold wind biting at his bare skin as he pulled down his uniform top. He had limited exposure to this type of weather, especially without his gear. It took effort not to start shivering and display weakness. Looking over at his competition, he saw that Cui was definitely feeling the cold. He had stripped as ordered and was now trying to blow warm air into his cold hands. Manzin looked like he couldn't be more comfortable. With thick black hair that could pass as animal fur covering his chest and back, no doubt he was warm. Jhainer also didn't look bothered at all by the cold. Trika was cold, and the scales on his body were an adaptation to keep him warm.

The four lined up right along the edge of the dark liquid greeting them. Vegeta tried peering down into it, looking for blinking lights. He saw nothing except darkness, and so he took as deep a breath as he could manage.

"There will be no ki use allowed. Understood?" Dodoria asked. Everyone nodded, all four of them leaning forward. Vegeta was already holding his breath. "Go!" Dodoria shouted.

They all dove in at the same time, and disappeared under the liquid. Vegeta felt like he had been stabbed by thousands of knives all at once – definitely water, but it was freezing and almost made him lose his breath. He tried ignoring it as much as possible as he quickly swam deeper and deeper. He could feel the others swimming with him, each of them relentless. They swam on and on for a few minutes, and then one of them apparently couldn't hold his breath anymore and turned around, quickly swimming back for the surface. Vegeta couldn't tell who it was, and he had no time to look. The cold had made him numb to feeling, and he could hold his breath for quite a while. And so he focused on looking for the blinking blue light.

He was so focused on his task that he never saw Manzin coming until the older boy was barreling right into him, slamming into his midsection. Vegeta instinctively opened his mouth, and immediately regretted it. He quickly snapped his mouth shut as he was slammed face-first into a wall of rock, but it was too late. He had a mouth full of water, and even though he forced himself to swallow it, he had already lost most of the air in his lungs. Whereas before he could have lasted almost half an hour holding his breath, now he would be lucky to last a couple minutes.

Vegeta spun around, fighting Manzin off him, barely holding back on using his ki. He slammed his fist into Manzin's face, and was met with a hard knee to the stomach. Vegeta's teeth ripped through his bottom lip completely as he forced his mouth to stay closed. In the split second it took for him to recover, Vegeta felt something snap around his ankle, before Manzin rapidly swam away. The Saiyan immediately went after him, when the lock on his ankle snapped him back.

Vegeta whirled back around, trying hard to see what the hell was on his ankle, but he couldn't make it out through the dark water. He pulled as hard as he could, but whatever Manzin had locked around his ankle did not budge. The prince pulled up and reached down to feel it. It was a metal chain, and by the feel of it, it had been there quite a while. A quick survey of the rock wall showed that there were a bunch of chains hooked up on there. Manzin's brother must have shared this valuable input, no doubt discovered during his own training to make rank.

When Vegeta's hand hit upon what could only be the bones from someone who had long ago died in this exact same situation, panic seized him. He frantically started clawing on the rock wall to free the piece the chain was attached to. He slammed his fists into the wall relentlessly, not feeling the skin of his knuckles being shredded as a result. His lungs were starting to burn, his eyes starting to hurt. Finally, the desperate prince said to hell with it; he would use his ki and blast his way out. He was loathed to lose this competition, but better lose the competition than his life, especially when there would be other opportunities.

Just as he pulled away from the rock wall to summon up the necessary ki, Vegeta saw it. Wedged above him in a small divot was something that was blinking blue.

That must have been his device. How the hell had he missed it? He forced the thought out of his mind. He had found it, now he needed to free it, then free himself, then get the hell out of there. Vegeta gripped the handle of his device as tight as he could and yanked on it, but it had no give. He then braced both of his feet against the rock wall, and pulled back with all the raw strength he had. After ten seconds, he freed the handle – nothing but a handle, but there was no mistaking the blue light blinking at the end of it.

The prince then turned his attention back to the ankle chain. In desperation, he steeled his nerve, and then slammed his fist as hard as he could on his foot, shattering his own ankle. His face turned red as he tried not to breathe, and then he finished the job by breaking his foot for good measure. The pain shot up his whole leg and up his spine, and Vegeta couldn't help the instinctive hiss that escaped through his nose. He rapidly slipped off the lock around his ankle, and then started to frantically swim back up.

He felt rapid movement below him, and knew that someone else was also swimming back up. But the more he exerted himself, the worse the strain was on his lungs, making them feel like they were going to burst inside his body. Against his will, his movements started to grow more sluggish as he gradually began to lose consciousness.

Jhainer finally caught up to the prince seconds later, and noticing that the other teenaged boy wasn't going to make it on his own, he hooked his arm around Vegeta's chest from behind as he propelled them both back up with his powerful tail. Half a minute later, they both broke through the surface of the dark water.

Jhainer gasped desperately for air, and when he could finally breathe again, he swam back towards the edge, pulling Vegeta along with him. When he got there, he flung the limp Saiyan teenager up over the edge with one arm, and then climbed out himself. Vegeta unconsciously rolled over so he was face down as he started sputtering and coughing, his soaking wet body shivering with the exposure to the cold.

"Sorry, boys. No points for second and third place," Manzin taunted, before laughing. Jhainer glared at him as he sluggishly got up to his feet.

"You're a damn coward, Manzin," Jhainer hissed through his razor sharp teeth. "You attacked me from behind while I was trying to free my device!"

"Pay better attention, Trikan," Dodoria chuckled. "The rules Zarbon gave you were that you could not attack each other _outside of training and competitions._ I didn't give any rules for this competition. I just said whoever came back first with his device would win. Cui came back first, but he had nothing. Manzin came back next, with his device. So Manzin wins and is now ahead by one point. Congratulations, kid."

"Thank you," Manzin said, his eyes bright blue again as he grinned triumphantly. He didn't look fazed at all by the cold, even though he too was soaking wet.

"You all get a short break, but no getting dressed. Stay like you are. We'll begin the day's training in a little bit," Dodoria announced, wandering off to a small container he had off to the side, filled with warm food and beverages just for himself.

Manzin wandered away towards his brother, who was already waiting to congratulate him. Sitting off to the side was Cui, who looked angry that he was the only one now without a weapon. Of the four, he was the worst at holding his breath, and so he was doomed to fail right from the start. Jhainer winced as he gingerly sat down, inspecting the wound on his side that Manzin had inflicted on him. It was a deep cut, and there was dark blue blood trickling out of it.

Meanwhile, Raditz and Nappa were crouched next to Vegeta, who was slowly rolling onto his back. If they had been alone, they would have each tried to cover the young prince with something to give him warmth, which was what he badly needed. There was already ice beginning to form on his tail and in his hair, and he was unnaturally pale. But offering him help now where others could see was a terrible idea, one that would incur Vegeta's wrath later. So they each did nothing but watch as the prince sluggishly started to pull himself up.

"What happened?" he groggily asked, squinting at his fellow Saiyans.

"Manzin won. He's got a point now," Nappa responded. "Jhainer got you out."

"Damn it," Vegeta grumbled, sitting up now. He shook his head rapidly to shake off the excess water like an animal, and then elevated his ki as much as he could to warm up a little bit. It barely helped. He was freezing and was helpless to stop his shivering. Looking down, he winced at the sight of his right foot. It was badly swollen despite the cold, and a sick mix of red and blue. He doubted that he would be able to get it back inside his boot. Gingerly, he pulled his foot up so it was on his left knee to further inspect the damage. "Manzin got me when I wasn't fucking looking. Foolish of me. I should have expected it," he quietly growled, not knowing if he was angrier with Manzin or with himself. "They had chains down there."

"Yes, his brother was bragging about giving Manzin that information. And besides, Manzin got Jhainer too. Seems his brother gave him some real good advice on how to play this," Nappa bitterly added.

"Hn," Vegeta grunted, prodding his broken foot with his fingers and flinching every so often. "That's fine. There is still a long way to go."

"So what did you get?" Raditz asked, sitting down now next to the prince. "Manzin got an invisibility cloak."

Vegeta looked down at his left hand, which was still clutching the handle he had freed. It took some effort to relax his grip enough to inspect it. It didn't help that his hands were shaking from the cold. The young prince frowned, turning it over a few times. It was a black metallic handle with a blinking blue light on the tip. He shook it, squeezed it, tried pressing the tip, but nothing happened.

"What the hell kind of weapon is this? Am I supposed to throw this at my enemy and hope it kills them or something?" he sneered.

"They all look the same," Jhainer suddenly cut in. Vegeta looked over at him, not knowing what to make of the boy saving him. He was grateful to be alive, but not grateful of being saved, and so he said nothing as he glared at Jhainer. If the young Trikan was bothered though by the lack of thanks, he didn't show it. He squatted down and showed the Saiyans what he had retrieved. "See. Looks just like yours, Vegeta, except mine has a white light. And when I hold it tight and imagine where I want to go…"

Jhainer squeezed the handle in his hand, and vanished. The Saiyans all blinked a bit, and then jumped with a start when Jhainer suddenly reappeared right behind Nappa.

"It's a teleporter," he said, a small smirk spreading over his face. "You have to play with it and figure out what yours does, but it definitely does something."

"Hn."

Dodoria then yelled at them all to line up. The prince forced himself back up to his feet, and then gently tried putting weight on his right foot. When he couldn't, he levitated until he was lined up, and then slowly descended down with all his weight on his left leg. He and Cui were visibly shaking from how cold they were, even as they both tried to get it under control. Jhainer wasn't able to fully stand with the wound in his side coupled with the thrashing he had taken early that morning from Zarbon, the marks of which were fresh on his scaled back. He was forced to keep one hand on his side to keep the bleeding under control. Only Manzin was standing easily, but ice was starting to settle on the hair on his body. The parts that weren't covered with hair – mainly his face, his hands, and his feet – were starting to turn white.

Dodoria scanned them all over while he drank something warm from a small wooden mug. He then chuckled.

"What's the matter? You all look like you've been through hell, and we haven't even started!" he mockingly shouted at them. He paused to take another drink from his mug. "Alright, children. It's time to see what you've all got. You're going to each learn to use your new devices in battle, and I will teach you each a new technique for hand-to-hand combat. It's just going to keep getting colder and colder today, boys, so best learn to suck it up and deal with it." Vegeta snorted mockingly, drawing Dodoria's attention. "You got something to say to me, monkey boy?"

The prince snarled out, "I'd like to see you deal with this cold, you fat blob of pink lard-"

Dodoria moved too fast for Vegeta to follow, but the pain that promptly fired up his right leg was intense. The young Saiyan collapsed in a heap, instinctively grabbing onto his broken foot as he bit down on his lip so he wouldn't scream. He forgot that his bottom lip was badly ripped open from his struggle with Manzin underwater. He rolled onto his knees, pressing his throbbing face against the cold black substance of the ground as he willed the excruciating pain in his foot to stop.

"Just earned yourself a worse thrashing with Zarbon, boy," Dodoria casually said, already back where he had originally been standing. "Next time you disrespect me, I'll kill you myself. Lord Frieza might have a fondness for you, but I don't. Now stand up, before I make sure you never get back up."

"Um, Dodoria?" Cui called out, waving awkwardly. "I don't have one of those device things…am I going to get one?"

"Sure, fish boy. When you jump back in and get it yourself, then you can have it. Now, each of you come over here…"

Try as he might, Vegeta could barely keep up in the training that ensued. The cold wind was merciless, and on his damp, half-naked body, it was numbing him and slowing him down. He found it harder and harder to focus on what Dodoria was telling him, even when he was right in his face explaining something. Fatigue was overwhelming him, and when he started feeling hot, he knew that the cold was getting to him. The prince could barely keep his grip on the handle of his weapon as Dodoria screamed in his ear for him to use it. _Ki enhancer._ That's what it was. Designed to teach him more discipline with manipulating his ki. But even though he tried following the directions on how to use it, nothing came out of it. Finally, in frustration, the teenager snarled that it was a broken piece of shit.

Dodoria then snatched it out of his hand, turned the handle towards the other trainees, who were all practicing new fighting techniques while Dodoria worked one on one with Vegeta. Three strands of bright orange ki emerged from the handle, like ropes. The ki ropes shot out together in a whirlwind and seized Jhainer, Manzin, and Cui each by the throat, lifting them each up effortlessly and flinging all three back into the dark, cold water almost one hundred feet away. Vegeta spent some time attempting to replicate the display, to no avail.

They ended the day with spars. By this point, they were all exhausted. Even Manzin had reached the limits of what his body could protect him from, and was now visibly shaking. Vegeta had lost the ability to focus on even the simplest of tasks. Cui's breaths were coming out in short gasps, his teeth chattering together. Jhainer could barely stand, his wounds from Zarbon and Manzin growing worse as time went on. The spars were extremely slow-paced even as Dodoria yelled at them all to move faster. But they couldn't. Finally, when Jhainer and Manzin both needed more than fifteen seconds to get back up after hitting each other at the same time during a spar, Dodoria had seen enough.

"Alright, you're all done!" Dodoria finally screamed. "Every damn one of you is an embarrassment, not being able to handle a little cold weather! You'll be lucky if I don't tell Lord Frieza to disband the rank qualifying squad this solar cycle, because not one of you deserves to be a ranked man. You all show up here tomorrow at 070X for training, and don't be late. Dismissed."

Vegeta sank to his knees in relief. Tomorrow he would be ashamed that he didn't last longer. But today, he just wanted to get the hell out of there. His room at Frieza's base wasn't fancy, but it was warm, and right now it sounded like pure heaven. Raditz and Nappa were next to him shortly afterwards, Raditz holding his gloves, boots, and armor. The prince didn't resist as they helped him up to his feet, nor did he resist their hands on his own, trying to warm his fingers which were dark blue at the tips. Though they were nowhere near as bad as his feet.

"We'll get you into a regen tank, and that'll take care of everything. Zarbon said they'd be up tonight, so it should be alright," Nappa informed him.

Vegeta nodded, not processing any of that. He got the gist when they took to the air and he mindlessly followed Raditz while Nappa followed him. Somewhere along the way though, his sight started fading. The last thing he remembered before passing out was Nappa slinging him onto his back and feeling the older Saiyan raise his ki to warm him.

When the prince roused later that night, he was laying down on a table inside the medical room, covered in a coarse gray blanket and dressed in a dry, warm uniform. The regeneration tanks were in the adjacent room, but this room was used for preliminary work, to take care of immediate health concerns if the tanks were all taken. Vegeta frowned and tossed aside the blanket, before sluggishly sitting up. His pants were pushed up to his knees, letting him examine his toes along with his fingers. They weren't that sick shade of blue anymore, being now covered with a healing lotion that had apparently done the trick. His foot still looked terrible though. Apparently there was no lotion for that.

Vegeta looked up when the door leading to the regeneration tanks opened, and raised an eyebrow when he saw Jhainer emerge. The Trikan boy had a thick bandage around his side, and the lashes from Zarbon on his back were covered in a healing gel. His blue tail was lashing with anger as he set his sights on Vegeta.

"We're not being healed tonight," Jhainer bluntly told him. Even though he had no pupil, Vegeta still saw the rage in the white of his eye. "Might as well just go back to our rooms until our next assignment, or until training tomorrow, because staying here is pointless."

"We'll see about that," Vegeta growled, forcing himself up on his feet. He limped over, shoving Jhainer out of his way. "They're supposed to let us heal after these trainings. I'm not going in tomorrow with a damn broken foot-"

"Vegeta…" Jhainer warned in his soft voice. He just looked away and sighed as the prince barged on in anyways.

Vegeta froze at the sight that greeted him. There were eight regeneration tanks there, and they were all filled with fluid and different soldiers. But instead of the blue healing fluid, they were submerged in a green fluid. Confused, the young prince frowned, and ignored his instinct to turn away as he limped over to the closest pod for a better look.

He flinched back when the man inside jerked upon his approach. A hand shot out in Vegeta's direction, and the prince immediately hobbled out of range of a potential ki blast, but nothing ever came. Limping closer again, Vegeta suddenly felt sick as he noticed what was really happening.

The man wasn't being healed. He was being disintegrated alive with acid, with most of his skin already dissolved. Desperate eyes locked onto his, as though pleading for help. Vegeta had seen horrible, violent things in his life, but he had never seen anything like this. Swallowing heavily, the prince scanned over the other tanks, and saw that they, too, were all being slowly dissolved to death. They must have been lied to, told they were going to be healed. It was cowardly, even by his standards.

His stomach churned with overwhelming nausea as he looked back at the first man, who was still conscious, even though some bones were now showing. They must have been given stiff paralyzers through their masks to prevent much movement. The young Saiyan made eye contact with him and saw a look of hopelessness and agony that would haunt him for years in his sleep.

He shook his head and turned away, only to bump right into Zarbon.

"You're not supposed to be in here. Did you need something, monkey prince?" Zarbon smoothly asked. Vegeta quickly shook his head. No way in hell was he getting into a tank anytime soon; dealing with his broken foot and his other wounds was suddenly not a problem. Zarbon's eyes narrowed as he looked over at the tanks.

"These men are the last of the ones who scored under 40 percent this morning. They were all highly suicidal. We are just giving them what they wanted," he casually explained. He patted Vegeta on the shoulder, making the young Saiyan flinch in disgust at the contact. "I'm quite pleased I ran into you though, Vegeta. Dodoria tells me you're due a thrashing for being late and mouthing off today. You know where to go, so meet me there in ten."

Vegeta nodded, and then watched as Zarbon left. He glanced back at the tanks, grimacing as they started getting more and more bloodied. He felt sick again, and so he half-shuffled, half-limped out of there as fast as he could manage.

Jhainer was still there by the door when Vegeta emerged, leaning against the wall. "The medical worker told me to wait until the tanks were freed, and that it would probably be a long wait," he explained. "After he left, I went in to see why there was such a long wait. I tried to get them out, but…"

Jhainer shrugged, and looked away. Vegeta had been staring down at the floor, listening. There was a tense silence for a moment as each teenager contemplated the grim situation in the next room, how easily it could have been them in there. Finally, Vegeta looked back up, and they both made eye contact.

"Manzin got you too?" he asked, eager to stop thinking about it.

"Yes. The coward," Jhainer muttered softly, frowning. "I never saw him coming."

"Listen…regarding your earlier offer…" Vegeta awkwardly started. He looked away and cleared his throat. "Perhaps having an ally wouldn't be the worst decision I could make."

Jhainer smirked. "You could definitely make worse decisions, Saiyan."

"It's null and void if we're in direct competition though, just so we're clear."

"Fine by me."

"Fine." Vegeta nodded, and then glanced back at the door. "You going to wait until they're…done…using the tanks?"

"I'm not sure yet. Are you?"

"No." The prince kept to himself the fact that he didn't trust someone not to give him the same fate as those in the next room. "It seems it's my turn for a thrashing."

"Perhaps if you didn't mouth off so frequently, you wouldn't get them so often."

Vegeta chuckled, and then began to limp away. "Mouthing off is the only fun I get to have, Trikan."

Jhainer snorted and shook his head, muttering under his breath in his native tongue about how insane the other boy was. Vegeta paid him no mind as he slowly hobbled out to go take his punishment from Zarbon.

All the while, he hoped that this alliance with Jhainer didn't turn out to be a mistake.


	5. Striking Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N- Vegeta forces a brutal noncon kiss here, heads up on that.

Raditz and Nappa were both standing next to each other, gazing down at the teenager laying in front of them. Vegeta was passed out on his cot, and he looked worse for wear. His face was pale, and the skin on his back was badly ripped open from his session with Zarbon, with parts of his back blistering from a fire whip. Even though Nappa and Raditz used their spare uniforms to absorb the bleeding like they always did, their efforts were in vain. The prince would only heal if he did nothing but rest, or if he got into a tank. Neither option was possible at the moment.

Raditz finally looked towards Nappa. "Well, I did it last time. It's your turn now."

Nappa snorted. "Are you nuts? I don't think so. You do it."

"And have Vegeta kill me?" Raditz scoffed. "No way, bald man. I did it last time, and I'm not doing it again."

"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. Do it, or I'll kill you myself, third class!" Nappa growled threateningly.

He and Raditz stared each other down for a few seconds, before Raditz looked back down at Vegeta, scowling as he did. Oh, how he hated being the weakest one in the group. Grumbling under his breath, he bent over and reached down to shake the teenager's shoulder.

"Vegeta," he called out in a loud voice. The prince didn't stir, and so Raditz shook his shoulder with more force. "Hey, you have to get up, unless you want to be late again."

Vegeta exhaled deeply, and then moved just enough to turn his head away from them. Raditz and Nappa exchanged a look. On one hand, they both sympathized with their prince. Vegeta was at a critical age for Saiyan males, and he needed far more nourishment and rest than he was getting. But on the other hand, if they let him be late, then not only would Vegeta get punished again, but they both would suffer too at the hands of the irate prince.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Nappa pressed, staring at his fellow Saiyan expectantly. Raditz inwardly groaned as he looked back down at Vegeta. He grit his teeth, and prayed to whoever might've been listening that Vegeta didn't kill him for this.

Before he could lose his nerve, Raditz reached down and seized Vegeta's limp tail, rapidly wrapped it a few times around his fist, and then yanked it hard.

Vegeta's eyes immediately flew open as he shot up to his feet. With no hesitation, the prince spun around and slammed his fist as hard as he could into Raditz' stomach before he even processed what had happened. Raditz doubled over and dropped to his knees, coughing and gasping for air as he clutched his stomach. It only took a couple of seconds for Vegeta to put two and two together while he wrapped his tail snugly around his waist. Raditz tried in vain to defend himself, but he couldn't stop Vegeta from delivering a vicious kick to his face with the heel of his good foot, shattering both his nose and scouter on impact.

"Try that again, and I guarantee that it'll be the last thing you ever fucking do," Vegeta venomously snarled.

"I told the weakling not to wake you that way," Nappa snorted. Laid out on the floor now and struggling to breathe, Raditz shot him a glare of pure hatred. Nappa just chuckled and then turned his attention back to the youngest Saiyan in the room. "Dodoria came by not too long ago. Said Frieza wants you as soon as you could get dressed and get over there."

Vegeta frowned as he turned away from Raditz who was slowly pulling himself up. The prince reached behind him and gingerly touched one of the deep, ripped cuts in his back. He pulled his hand back and saw fresh blood staining his fingers. He was no stranger to these kinds of injuries, but usually, he was allowed to recover in a tank afterwards. After his punishment though, Zarbon had informed him that it would take some time to disinfect the regeneration tanks, and that Frieza had yet to decide if he just wanted to toss them out and order new ones to be built. Looking down at his broken foot, which was swollen worse than the night before, Vegeta knew he had his work cut out for him if he couldn't heal soon.

"What time is it?" he demanded, limping over to his gear to get ready.

"060X. Enough time for you to meet with Frieza and get to training on time," Nappa answered, going over to Raditz. With one hand, he easily raised the other Saiyan back up to his feet.

Vegeta got dressed quickly, even though with every movement, it felt like his back was being set on fire. It was especially bad when he covered his skin with the spandex of his uniform top. Ignoring the pain as much as he could, he turned back around to his comrades, making a disconnect motion with his hand. Nappa obediently turned off his scouter while Raditz reset his broken nose.

"While I go meet with Frieza, I want you both to get a full scouting report on galaxy #23 in the north sector," Vegeta ordered while he tugged on his gloves. "Just tell the technician that it's for a purging assignment. The fool won't question it. He'll give you everything, but I only want to know about Planet Trika."

"…Jhainer's home planet?" Nappa questioned, frowning in confusion. "You thinking of purging it, Vegeta?"

"No, nothing like that. Jhainer and I have an alliance now, and so I want to know more about his background. We'll start by investigating his planet," Vegeta explained while he leaned up against the wall to put his boot on over his wounded foot. After a few failed attempts to do it gently, the prince finally just yanked the boot on, forcing his foot to accommodate itself. He grit his teeth hard as a wave of pain rushed up his entire leg. Unable to stand it, he burned through the instep of his boot with his ki to give his foot some breathing room.

"We'll go take care of that then, won't we?" Nappa said, eyeing the third Saiyan in the room. Raditz just grunted his agreement, brushing the blood off his face. It wasn't like he had much of a choice.

"Good." Vegeta slipped on his scouter, and then limped towards the door. "Did Dodoria say what Frieza wanted me for?"

"Nope. Didn't seem to be in a real rush though. He probably wouldn't mind if you were late to training again," Nappa bitterly remarked as he and Raditz followed the prince out of their quarters.

"Hn," Vegeta grunted his agreement, looking over his shoulder. "Go and get that done. I want that information as soon as possible."

Nappa nodded, and then he walked off to the right with Raditz trailing him, while Vegeta headed off to the left. The prince was doing his usual walking motion, though he was subtly levitating a few centimeters whenever he put his broken foot forward. To anyone not paying close attention, his walk passed as normal, which was the only thing that mattered at the moment. Here in the open, it was important not to show any weakness.

Still, the young Saiyan couldn't help the cold sweat breaking out over his entire body as he headed to Frieza's office. His back and his foot were hurting badly, and he still felt a bit out of sorts from his first training session with Dodoria. All he wanted to do was lie down and sleep. Unfortunately, his day was only getting started.

Meanwhile, in one of the gathering rooms attached to Frieza's office, the tyrant was casually seated at the head of a long, holographic table while overseeing a political meeting. Both sides of the table were filled with different aliens, all of them looking grim and uncomfortable. There was a glass of alien drink neatly in place before each alien, but no one except Frieza had touched his glass.

Finally, a hunched over white furred beast of an alien with one enormous blood red eye taking up most of his face dared break the silence. His voice was rough with apprehension. "You said you could give us control of our planet back…but you have yet to say what you want in exchange."

Frieza chuckled, and casually leaned forward in his levitating seat.

"Well, since you've asked so politely, dear Truben, I'll tell you. It's simple: I want your allegiance. You see, your planet Pilaz has things of great value to me. The best technology on this side of the galaxy. Some impressive, talented young fighters. A prime location for restocking, being at the corner of several different galaxies. I assume that with your allegiance, I will receive the rest of these wonderful resources whenever I request them. In exchange, I will have my men annihilate the enemies that have taken over and enslaved your planet, and I guarantee to always provide protection in case of a similar event in the future."

"And if we say no?" a smaller alien sitting across from Truben challenged. This alien was smaller than Frieza, but he was undoubtedly much older. Like Truben, he only had one large red eye on his face, but there were sharp black spikes on top of his head, standing out on his white fur.

Everyone looked at him in shock over his daring question, with Truben offering a withering glare before turning back to the tyrant. "Apologies for Felsin, Lord Frieza. He's an old man-"

"Oh, there is no need for apologies," Frieza casually dismissed with a wave of his hand, before reaching up to his scouter. "Felsin's concerns are legitimate, and I'm sure that he's not the only one with such thoughts. Such concerns deserve a response…" His transmission was picked up over the scouter. "Zarbon?"

Zarbon's voice immediately came through. "Yes, Lord Frieza?"

"Has the boy arrived yet?"

"Yes. He is waiting for you."

"Wonderful. Send him in."

"Right away."

Five seconds later, Vegeta slowly entered the gathering room. Aside from his badly ripped lower lip which hadn't healed, and the sweat shining on his face and neck, the prince didn't look to be in any physical discomfort. He levitated just enough to appear to be walking, and came to a stop a safe distance away.

"My lord, you summoned me," Vegeta grumbled, bowing his head in feigned respect and missing the shocked looks on the faces of the aliens around the table.

"Walk closer, right over here. I want our guests to see you." Frieza observed the Saiyan's movements, and then gave a few tsk's. "I said _walk,_ not levitate, stupid monkey."

Vegeta clenched his jaw shut as he finally walked, unable to hide his bad, painful limp. He came up next to Frieza's right side, and finally turned to face the other aliens in the room. The young prince frowned when he saw the way they were staring back at him. There was recognition, fear, and…remorse? Pity? His lip twitched as his eyes darkened with hatred.

"Gentlemen," Frieza brightly said, reaching around Vegeta to grasp the teenager's shoulder, like a father about to present his favorite son. "Allow me to introduce you to one of my youngest, and one of my finest. This boy's name is Vegeta, and I have raised him like he was my own son. He is the last surviving prince of the powerful Saiyan race, and is currently a preliminary ranked man in my Galactic Army. If he is successful in the coming lunar cycles, he will be a fully ranked man."

Glances were exchanged at the table, before all eyes went over to the prince being presented. Vegeta felt uncomfortable with all the attention, not sure what he was even doing there. His best guess was that he was going to be ordered to slaughter everyone in the room. If that was the case, he'd rather just get on with it.

"Tell them what happened to your planet, Vegeta," Frieza ordered, earning a wary look from the teenaged prince. The tyrant just smiled at him in encouragement. "Go on, boy. Share your story. It's quite riveting."

Vegeta felt more uncomfortable than ever as he looked forward. Some of the looks on the faces of the men staring back at him conveyed that they already knew the truth. His eyes settled on the far wall as he mumbled, "My home planet was destroyed by a meteor, almost ten full solar cycles ago by the Cold calendar. Only three of us survived."

"How tragic! A meteor destroying the entire planet of one of the most powerful warrior races the universe has ever seen! Have any of you ever heard of such a thing?" Frieza questioned in feigned bewilderment. He squeezed Vegeta's shoulder with so much strength, the armor started to deform as pain flashed over the young prince's face. The tyrant barely noticed while he made eye contact with everyone seated in front of him, the threat clear in his eyes. "Heaven only knows what planet a meteor might strike next…"

"Alright," the older alien named Felsin quietly relented. Frieza's grip on Vegeta relaxed, and the prince was relieved. And suspicious. He scowled as he looked at the tyrant out of the corner of his eye while Felsin continued, "We accept your deal and pledge our allegiance."

"Outstanding. We have a deal then," Frieza responded with a grin. Vegeta tried to leave, but Frieza's grip tightened on his shoulder again. "Please meet with Zarbon on your way out. He will handle the logistics. Thank you all for coming, and I look forward to a profitable relationship for many solar cycles to come."

The young Saiyan waited until most of the aliens had left, before he finally spoke again. "If that's all, Lord Frieza, may I leave? I'd rather not be late again to training."

"Goodness, always in a rush. Can't I even have a moment to check in with you to see how my favorite monkey prince is doing?" Frieza kindly asked, releasing his grip on the prince to reach for his drink. His levitating seat turned slightly so he was facing the teenager with him. "Now then. Dodoria tells me that Manzin is already ahead in the competitions, earning the first point. I had a feeling you would fail in this, Vegeta, since that's all you know how to do. But I'm surprised to see that you're failing so early in the process."

Vegeta bit his tongue hard enough to draw blood, lest he say something he would regret. With a look that could have killed, he evenly replied, "We have barely gotten started. I haven't failed until another is given rank."

"Perhaps, but Manzin is stronger than you, am I correct?"

The prince growled. "He's barely-"

"Yes or no," Frieza cut in. Vegeta fell into a bitter silence, his face reddening with growing anger and resentment. The tyrant chuckled and took another sip of his drink. "Yes, that's what I thought. You see, my pet, strength means everything. Without my strength, you wouldn't obey me. Without _your_ strength, your men wouldn't obey you. Do you agree?"

"My men obey me because I am their prince-"

"Oh, come now, Vegeta. I know that you're still a boy, but don't be so _naïve_. They obey you because of your superior strength, and because you would kill them if they didn't. Don't mistake self-preservation for loyalty." Vegeta looked away, frowning in thought. Try as he could to hide it, it was obvious the thought had crossed his mind before. Frieza smiled and continued, "Now, Manzin is older than you, has more experience than you, and is stronger than you. By allowing him to draw the first point, you have placed yourself at a disadvantage."

"It's nothing I cannot overcome," Vegeta asserted with full confidence.

"We shall see about that, Vegeta. Now, since both of your monkey parents are very dead, there is no one else in your life to give you quality advice and guidance for what lies ahead…except for me. I don't usually do this, but because you're like a son to me, I will gladly give that advice to you," Frieza informed him, pausing to receive a sign of gratitude.

The prince lowered his head, even as the fur on his tail bristled with his rising rage. "I would appreciate that very much, Lord Frieza," he finally got out through clenched teeth.

Satisfied, Frieza continued. "Only the strongest get through the training and competitions in the rank qualifying squad, and I don't mean who is strongest physically. I'll have you know, boy, that the winner is not always the man with the highest power level. But it's _always_ the man who is the smartest, who seizes opportunity and creates his own where none exists. It's the man who is willing to chain another underwater and let him drown just to gain the first point."

Vegeta's head snapped up in surprise. "You know about that?"

Frieza smirked. "Silly monkey, I know _everything_ that goes on here. Especially with this current rank qualifying squad being so young overall, I am quite intrigued in how this will unfold."

"It was a dirty move on Manzin's part yesterday," Vegeta snarled. "He almost fucking killed me!"

"Temper, _temper_ ," Frieza laughed. "This is what I'm talking about, boy. Open your eyes and look at the big picture. Manzin's maneuver was brilliant, and that's the type of man who will rise up quickly in the ranks. The question now is, what are you going to do about it, hmm? Don't answer that right now. Think about it."

The young prince nodded, and grumbled out, "Yes, Lord Frieza."

"Now go tend to your business," Frieza ordered. "I'll be looking forward to hearing about your progress. Dismissed."

Vegeta bowed in respect, and then turned around, limping out of there with a disgusted look on his face. He would have preferred beatings over the times when Frieza just wanted to have little "chats" with him. But, as much as he hated to admit it, he knew that Frieza was right. He was definitely going to need to use his smarts if he wanted to earn his rank. The tyrant was many things, but unintelligent was not one of them. Slowly, his anger began to die down, and he started thinking of how best to approach today's training. Reaching up to his scouter, Vegeta checked the time, and then smirked when he realized how much time he still had left until training.

A short time later, the prince was banging on a metallic door down a long corridor. A few seconds later, the door slid open, with a tired looking Jhainer appearing before him. The young Trikan had clearly been asleep, wearing only his uniform pants and his scouter, and looking half-awake.

"What is it, Saiyan?" Jhainer asked while he checked the time on his scouter. He looked less than pleased at the result that beeped back. "Training doesn't start for a bit yet."

"I know," Vegeta gruffly replied, stalking on inside even though he was never invited in. He surveyed the room, which was just like his, except one third the size. His dark eyes settled on some remnants of Trikan blood on Jhainer's cot and on the floor. "How's that gash Manzin gave you?"

Jhainer's blue tail whipped behind him a bit in suspicion. This was the first time the Saiyan had sought him out like this, and though they were technically in an alliance now, Vegeta wasn't the only one who had a hard time trusting others. The Trikan's white eye drifted down to Vegeta's white boots. "I don't know. How's the broken foot?"

"Hn," Vegeta grunted. "I'm fine."

"As am I."

The prince slowly turned back around to face him. "I'm sure Manzin is feeling better than fine though."

"Yes, I'm sure he is," Jhainer agreed, looking at the other teenager with curiosity as to where this was going.

"He's already the strongest one out of all of us, and with him being 100 percent? Well, I don't think that's very fair, especially since he's the reason my foot is broken and you have that injury to your side. Do _you_ think that's fair, Jhainer?"

A slow smirk spread over the older boy's face as realization dawned on him. "No. It's not fair at all, actually."

"I think we should do something about it," Vegeta proposed, smirking back.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Trikan, I thought you'd never ask…"

* * *

Despite what Vegeta thought, Manzin wasn't quite at 100 percent. His older brother Ajox had kept him awake a good portion of the night, giving him strategy after strategy after strategy for approaching the next few days. Instead of going to sleep after his brother was done, Manzin had then gone and paid a visit to Aradeen. Some violence ensued over her interaction with the youngest Saiyan, and there were deep scratches with dried blood on Manzin's face and neck from her attempts to defend herself while he beat her down. But he had gotten his message across to her loud and clear, and was certain that she would never look in Vegeta's direction again. Now he was trying to catch up on much-needed sleep in his private quarters before reporting for the day's training.

Jhainer suddenly appeared out of nowhere in Manzin's room, clutching his teleportation device tightly in his right hand. The Trikan scanned over the room that Manzin shared with Ajox, but only Manzin was there, laid out on his cot and snoring loudly.

That didn't last long though.

Manzin was jarred awake by a well-delivered, violent kick from Jhainer right to his temple. The older boy toppled right off his cot, landing hard on the floor. He sat up in a daze, not sure what was going on until his eyes settled on Jhainer. The young Trikan flashed him a cocky look, and then took off running out of the room. Manzin growled and leapt up to his feet in a flash, tearing off after him. In his haste, he completely missed the young Saiyan leaning up against the wall next to the entrance to his room.

Right as the metallic door was about to slide shut after Manzin, Vegeta wedged his good foot in to keep the door open. For protection purposes, no one except for Frieza himself, Dodoria, and Zarbon could enter another man's private quarters. Everything was hand scanner access only, lest everyone kill each other off in their sleep. That was the main reason for bringing Jhainer into this, otherwise Vegeta would've taken care of everything on his own.

The prince walked into Manzin's room now, and he instantly headed to the corner, where Manzin's silver armor set with the attached black cape was residing. He lifted it up, tossing it up and down a couple of times. Not too far away was the device Manzin had retrieved the day before. It would be mandatory to bring it along to training today. A smirk spread over the young prince's face as he snatched up the handle to Manzin's invisibility cloak, and then he limped back out, taking everything with him.

Vegeta finally entered his own quarters, where Nappa and Raditz were now waiting for him. Both Saiyans stood up when he came in, and then looked at him in confusion when they saw what he was carrying. They all made sure the communications on their scouters were all turned off, and then Vegeta dropped everything on the floor.

"Destroy it," the prince roughly ordered. Raditz and Nappa didn't hesitate, both of them raising a glowing palm towards the floor. They both fired at the same time, and by the time the smoke cleared, the device handle was disintegrated, and so was the black cape. But the armor remained, even though it looked charred now. Vegeta snorted mockingly. "Weaklings."

"That's a pretty tough armor set," Nappa commented, looking back towards his prince. "Whose is it, anyways?"

"Don't worry about it. Just get rid of it before training's done for the day. And don't leave this room until you're done."

Nappa grinned, nodding in understanding while Raditz raised a black, square electronic handheld device, waving it a little bit. "Got that intel you requested on Trika. Everything you could ask for-"

"I'll look at it later tonight. Put that shit away, _right now_ ," Vegeta hissed. Raditz looked at him in confusion, but before he could respond, Jhainer suddenly appeared out of nowhere next to Vegeta.

"Lost him," Jhainer softly announced, his white gaze lowering to the silver armor set on the floor. He never noticed Raditz turning around to put the black electronic device on the other side of his own cot, safely out of sight.

"How the hell did you do that?" Vegeta asked, raising an eyebrow. "Manzin's faster than you on his worst day and your best day."

"This teleportation thing has come in handy, Saiyan. Ready to go?"

The prince scoffed, going over to pick up his own weapon handle for his ki enhancer. "Can you even teleport two people with that toy you have?"

"Only one way to find out," Jhainer reasoned with a challenging smirk. "Unless you're too afraid to try, of course."

Vegeta glared at him, and then limped over to stand right in front of him. "Manzin won't be able to touch us if we're within eyesight of Dodoria. So let's just get on with it, before we're late," he ordered. Jhainer just chuckled, and then reached out to put one blue, scaly hand on Vegeta's shoulder. Then they were gone.

"You think this is smart?" Raditz asked when he was alone with Nappa again. "Ajox is a rank 3 man. He's got a lot of connections if this goes badly for Manzin."

"Vegeta knows what he's doing. He always has a plan," Nappa reasoned aloud, squatting down to pick up the silver set of armor. He inspected it carefully while adding, "Given that Vegeta and Jhainer are working together, it'd be best if you memorized all that information on that device, then destroyed it."

"Do you know how long that damn report on Trika is?" Raditz sneered. "I'm not memorizing all that shit."

"If Jhainer gets wind of this, it means bad things for all of us. So you better shut your mouth and get to work."

Raditz grumbled some curses in his native tongue, but then sat down to do as he was ordered.

Meanwhile, Jhainer and Vegeta both teleported into a downstairs information room, which was where Dodoria was already waiting for them. The prince in particular looked relieved that they weren't at the cold south end of the planet this time. Cui was already there, arms crossed over his silver armor while he inspected a huge digital display, one of many that was available in the large, cool room. Dodoria was sitting down several feet away from him, also watching the digital screens while he snacked on a large piece of red alien fruit. The red juices were running down his chin and staining his armor, much to Vegeta's disgust.

"What about Cui? We didn't handle him," Jhainer whispered to the prince next to him. Vegeta shook his head.

"Not a threat like Manzin," he whispered back. "Not worth the risk."

Jhainer nodded right as Manzin burst in through the large doors leading into the room. There wasn't even enough time for everyone to glance in his direction, before Manzin flew in and tackled Vegeta hard to the floor. The Saiyan winced in pain as he felt his broken ankle tweak badly on impact, and it felt like a burst of flames erupted on his back, but he did nothing to fight back as Manzin quickly mounted him and pinned him down.

"I know that it was _you_ behind that, you worthless piece of shit Saiyan!" Manzin snarled with incredible hatred, pulling one hand back and curling it into a fist. Jhainer quickly moved in and grabbed him around his midsection, violently throwing him off Vegeta before he could bring his fist down. Manzin immediately scrambled back up to his feet, when he was struck hard enough in the face to shatter bones. He fell backwards, stunned with blood running down his face while he stared up at Dodoria.

"Now I don't know what's got you so pissed off, boy, but I'll tell you what's got _me_ pissed off," Dodoria growled down at Manzin. He took a juicy bite of his fruit from one hand, raising the other hand up and showing three fingers. "Three things. One, you're the last to arrive, which means you're late. Two, you just broke one of the main rules of the rank qualifying squad: you do not attack each other outside of trainings and competitions. Not only did you break it, but you had the balls to do it right in front of me-"

Manzin desperately cut in, "But, Jhainer snuck into my-"

He was cut off when Dodoria fired a powerful orange ki blast right into his face, making him cry out in pain as he writhed on the floor, in agony from the burns. Behind Dodoria, Cui was cringing while he watched. Vegeta was standing again, putting all his weight on one leg. He and Jhainer looked more than pleased, each of them wearing satisfied smirks. Both teenagers exchanged a brief, mischievous look, and their smirks only grew.

"But you know what pisses me off the most?" Dodoria continued, unaware of Vegeta and Jhainer's reactions behind him. "You're here, showing up to MY training, without the proper armor. Members of the squad wear the silver armor set with the black cape so others know not to touch them. Where the hell is your damn armor, boy?"

Manzin looked down, squinting at the armor he was wearing. It was his usual black set, the only thing he could get his hands on. He knew for a fact that Vegeta or Jhainer had stolen his squad armor, but he had no proof.

"Well? WHERE IS YOUR ARMOR?" Dodoria screamed down at him, making Manzin flinch. Behind him, Jhainer and Vegeta were both on the verge of laughter and trying to keep it contained.

"I don't know, sir. I…I think it was stolen," Manzin quietly admitted, his eyes purple with fear. "And I think Vegeta might be respon-"

"No, YOU are responsible for your own goddamned gear! Now that's three mistakes, so that's three times the normal thrashing with Zarbon. And because a new set of armor has to be customized just for you, since you _lost_ your damn set, we'll make it four times with Zarbon. And to make sure it doesn't happen again, I'll make a request that he use electricity and not fire. Now get the fuck out of my sight, boy. Don't come back here until you're dressed in the proper uniform."

Manzin visibly paled at the thought of getting four times the usual with the electric whip. If Vegeta had given a damn about him, he might have felt bad. He had only gotten two times the usual with the fire whip the night before, and it was still painful to stand. Four times with the far worse electric whip would've tested the Saiyan's pain threshold to the limit. And he was actually _used to_ getting those thrashings. Manzin, however, was not used to such severe punishment, mostly because he was shielded by his older brother Ajox at every opportunity. Vegeta guessed Manzin would be a bloody and unconscious mess before the first round was even done. The thought alone practically made his day.

Manzin stood up and made eye contact with Jhainer, and then with Vegeta. Both of them gave him a look of smug satisfaction. Manzin glared at them, his eyes black with deadly hatred. He then turned around and headed out to go see Zarbon, his head down and his shoulders tense over what awaited him.

When Dodoria turned back around to face them after Manzin had left, Vegeta and Jhainer both looked gruff and indifferent again. The lieutenant scowled and went over to get right into the Saiyan's face.

"You have anything to do with that?" he demanded.

Vegeta scoffed. "No. I have no idea what that fool was rambling about."

"Uh huh," Dodoria mumbled disbelievingly, eyeing the Saiyan prince down. "You better watch it, monkey boy. I got my eye on you."

"I'm flattered, Dodoria, but I'm only attracted to females," Vegeta responded with a smirk.

Dodoria growled and seized the prince by the jaw, his grip so painfully tight that Vegeta felt like his jaw was about to fracture. "Watch that smart mouth, Saiyan, or I'll have you get twice what Manzin gets. If I find out that you had anything to do with his misplaced armor, I'll report this entire incident to Frieza. Got it?" he demanded, tightening his grip just a bit more. Vegeta nodded as much as he could, and then Dodoria shoved his face away as he let him go.

"Alright then, kids, let's begin," Dodoria announced. He walked away from them towards a large set of black digital screens. "One skill we want each of you to develop over the course of your training is leadership. It's a trait that's not born overnight, so we should begin now." He pressed his finger to one of the screens, and a flurry of galaxies and stars flew past, until the screen zoomed in on one set of planets. There were blinking red and blue lights scattered over the different planets, and Vegeta immediately remembered the display that Zarbon had been analyzing.

"This is a depiction of Galaxy #66 in the west sector. Every few solar cycles, they have a galaxy wide youth fighting tournament geared towards kids, all of them younger than you. These blue lights you see blinking here are all young fighters with power levels at 1,500 or higher. We expect that each kid with a blue light will participate in the interplanetary tournament. Your next task is to attend this tournament, scout the fighters, and bring back one of them as a new recruit for Frieza's ranks. Per Zarbon's orders, you are to purge that fighter's home planet in the process. In due time, we will have our own little tournament where all of your fighters will battle to the death. The fighter that remains standing at the end will gain full entry to the Galactic Army, and whoever recruited him will gain a point."

"Is this the recruiting Lord Frieza mentioned?" Jhainer questioned.

"Yes. This information is straight from Zarbon. Everyone is starting to recruit, but _your_ recruits are the only ones who will battle to the death. It's to see which of you will step up and be the best leader, training your recruit properly and readying him for life or death battle. Good practice for you," Dodoria chuckled, taking a bite into his fruit.

"When the hell are we supposed to find the time to train a kid?" Vegeta demanded.

"Up to you. You don't have to train 'em if you don't want to. But then they'll likely be killed, and someone else will win a point. Your choice. Also, your choice if you want to bring along your two monkey companions with you. Now you all have three days. One day to travel, one day to recruit and purge, and another day to travel back. Best get moving, children. Dismissed."

Jhainer and Vegeta both turned to each other and started whispering about this new task when Cui shimmied up to them. The two teenagers turned and gave him two equally intimidating glares, but Cui was unfazed as he chuckled.

"Hey guys, nice move with Manzin," he said with a grin. "Real nice. Real smart. Bet that was you that thought of it, huh, Ve-"

"What do you want, Cui?" Jhainer cut in, his good eye narrowing in suspicion.

"Well, it seems to me like you both got yourselves a little teamwork thing going, and I think I would be an excellent addition-"

"No," Vegeta roughly interrupted.

"Three on one? We could take out Manzin completely," Cui reasoned. Jhainer and Vegeta exchanged a look, and then both boys turned around and started walking away, with the Saiyan prince awkwardly limping. Cui urgently started trailing them. "Come on, guys. Just think about it."

"Alright," Vegeta agreed, tilting his head a little bit. "Hmm…well, would you look at that? I thought about it and the answer is still no."

"Then maybe I'll side with Manzin and even our odds," Cui threatened. The two teenagers in front of him paused and looked back at him.

"You do that," Jhainer softly said, exposing his razor sharp teeth in warning. "It's the only way you have any chance of winning this anyways."

"I only know one thing. If I don't get my rank, neither will you two," Cui swore, making eye contact with both of them. He then roughly brushed past them, activating his scouter to see where Manzin was. If he was in the middle of getting the thrashing of his life, it would be even better. Cui could approach him afterwards with the idea for an alliance of their own, when Manzin was at his weakest and most vulnerable.

"Not a threat, huh?" Jhainer asked when Cui was out of sight.

"Fuck Cui," Vegeta snarled.

"Unfortunately, I'm only attracted to females too," Jhainer drawled, earning an amused look from the prince next to him. The young Trikan just shook his head at him. "Your smart mouth will be the death of you, Saiyan."

"Maybe, maybe not. So do you even need a space pod anymore with that teleportation toy of yours?"

"Yes. I tried last night to teleport back to my home planet. I couldn't do it," Jhainer admitted. "Either the device is only limited to the planet I'm on, or I haven't figured it out yet."

"Hn," Vegeta grunted, all shreds of amusement disappearing from his face at the thought of Jhainer trying to go back to his home planet. The Trikan clearly still cared about his home planet, which he hadn't stepped foot on since he had been given up to Frieza. The information Raditz had gathered might prove even more deadly than Vegeta anticipated. For some reason though, he was no longer truly interested to hear what Raditz had to say about Trika.

"Well, I'll see you at the tournament," Jhainer added, frowning at the brooding look on the other boy's face. He was answered with a mindless nod, and so he took that as his cue to leave. Vegeta watched him walk away, and then reached up for his scouter.

"What's going on, Vegeta?" Nappa's voice came through a few seconds later.

"Got a recruiting and purging assignment," the prince bluntly informed him. "I'm going to check in on something, and then we'll go, so you and Raditz be ready at the dock."

"Got it."

"How goes the project I left you with?"

"It's been taken care of."

The prince grunted in approval. "Don't be late at the dock."

"We won't."

Vegeta turned off the communications in his scouter, and then slowly headed outside for some fresh air. There was a certain someone he wanted to see before he left…

The prince dropped down in front of the Ozo tavern a few moments later, peeking in through the dirty glass. He didn't see anyone, so he levitated inside, scouring for signs of Aradeen. The place seemed deserted though. Vegeta scowled and activated his scouter, dropping the threshold down as far as it would go. The scouter beeped when it picked up a power level of 20, coming from the back. She must have been cleaning back there, he reasoned as he headed in that direction. The prince went through the back supply room, not letting his feet hit the floor, until he reached the small living quarters at the very back. Vegeta glanced in. It was pitch black in there, but his scouter said she was there. He reached up and turned the scouter off.

"Slave," he roughly growled, hearing some motion in response to his voice. "What the hell are you doing slumbering at this time? Get up and get out here."

"Please, leave me alone, Vegeta."

Vegeta blinked a few times at the way her voice sounded. That wasn't the sensual voice he liked. Something was wrong. He reached around blindly for a light, and then his hand hit a sensor that triggered a dim light in the room. Aradeen was laying down on the floor, wrapped up in some old blankets. She turned away from him, but not before he saw how badly bruised her face was. The prince approached until he was hovering over her.

"Manzin," he said, no doubt in his voice.

"Yes."

"Did he rape you?"

"No."

"Hn," Vegeta grunted, his eyes sweeping over her. He was more irritated by the fact that her beauty was now diminished over the fact that she had been ruthlessly battered by Manzin. Beatings were a fact of life after all, and everyone had to suffer through them, men, women, and children alike. "Must've really pissed him off, female," he snorted.

"It seems that way," she weakly responded, staring at the wall. She had wanted to get some rest before the usual stream of rowdy soldiers started trickling in that night. Nothing seemed to be going according to plan lately though.

Aradeen flinched when Vegeta's fingers settled around her jaw, before he forced them to make eye contact. Even with the dark bruises littering her otherwise flawless skin, the prince still found that she was attractive. Her eyes drew him the most, with that unusual reptilian shade of blue. He ran his thumb under her lower lip, and for the first time, she noticed that he didn't look too great either. His lower lip was horribly ripped open, and the prince was soaked in sweat, as though every motion was an enormous exertion.

"A female as pathetically weak as you taking such a beating…you must be in pain," Vegeta mumbled, his hand slowly moving down to lower her blankets, exposing more and more of her bruised skin. "I could kill Manzin and ensure such a thing never happens again. But I will expect something from you in return for my troubles…what do you say? Will you compensate me as a proper slave should?"

Aradeen tried not to show her terror as the Saiyan leaned down to her throat to inhale her scent, while his hand freely explored her body. She didn't know right now who she was afraid of most: Manzin, with his overwhelming possession and his tendencies to lash out in violence, or Vegeta, with his unnerving interest and the inevitability of where that interest would lead them. Would he kill her right now, if she pushed him away?

"Okay," she relented, making Vegeta look back up at her. Not knowing what else to say in order to avoid dying or being raped right here and right now, she desperately settled on, "Okay, if you take care of Manzin, then I'll…I'll take care of you, but not right now. I wouldn't be able to—to handle you. I need to heal first."

A look of sheer triumph came over Vegeta's face over her acceptance of the inevitable, as his male ego grew to enormous proportions. He chuckled and nodded his agreement.

"Outstanding. We have a deal then," he muttered, unconsciously quoting Frieza verbatim from earlier. Before she could say anything else, the prince crushed his lips down over hers, forcing her mouth open in a bruising and painful kiss that was only pleasurable to him. He ignored the hands on his shoulders trying desperately to push him away, and he soon tasted her blood in his mouth as his brutal move ripped open her bruised and sensitive flesh around her lips from Manzin's blows. He pulled back and smirked at the tears in her eyes as she rubbed her bruised and throbbing face.

"I'm going to leave for a short while to handle business. Manzin will be dead when I return. Would you like me to bring you back his severed head as a gift?" Vegeta casually asked.

Aradeen blinked up at him, wondering if the Saiyan was insane. He surely didn't look like he was joking. She shook her head quickly. "Thank you, but…um…you can keep it."

"I think I might," he replied as he got back up to his feet. "I'll see you in a few days, slave. And do something about those hideous bruises. They lessen your appeal," he gruffly ordered on his way out. Aradeen sighed in relief that he was gone, at least for the moment. She turned away from the doorway, covering herself in her blankets and wondering what the hell she had gotten herself into.

Vegeta was in good spirits as he levitated out of the tavern a few moments later. He reached up to turn his scouter back on, so he could inform Nappa and Raditz that he was on his way. As soon as he did though, his scouter beeped in warning as it detected four power levels close by, all over 15,000.

The prince never had a chance to react before they ambushed him. A group of Frieza's men, each of them pummeling him and striking him hard, moving so fast that he only saw flashes of their armor. His scouter was ripped off him and destroyed, getting rid of the evidence of the beating that was against the rules. Vegeta desperately tried to blast off into the air to try to get some distance, but he was quickly grabbed by the ankle and thrown back to the ground as the beating mercilessly continued. They were all stronger than him, and he could do little to defend himself. One of them specifically targeted his broken foot, slamming their boot down right on his ankle. Vegeta screamed in pain, but that stopped when he was violently forced on his stomach, his own black cape wrapping tightly around his throat. A strong weight settled down on his back, and he felt someone pull back on his cape as he was strangled.

"It was your idea to set my brother up, wasn't it, you son of a bitch," a furious voice snarled from behind him. Manzin's brother, Ajox. Had to be. Vegeta desperately used his ki to slice through the cape, gasping when the pressure on his throat was relieved. His relief was short-lived as Ajox seized him by the hair and slammed him face-first into the rock ground, damn near rendering Vegeta unconscious with the impact. The prince coughed weakly, blood running into his eyes as Ajox kept his face pressed roughly against the ground.

"Your filthy race was responsible for the purging of my home planet, Saiyan. Unlike my brother, I don't hold that against you, since you had nothing to do with it. But hear this, Vegeta. If you _ever_ set Manzin up like that again, I will rip all of your organs out of your body."

The weight off his back was removed, and then one of Ajox's comrades delivered a hard kick to the prince's ribs, forcing him to cough up blood. Vegeta squinted his eyes open, trying to get a good look at who else was with Ajox for retaliation purposes, but his sight was blurred and he couldn't make them out. A moment later, and they all blasted off into the air, heading back to base. The prince weakly glared in their direction, before resting his head back down and closing his eyes as he tried regaining his bearings. But there was only one thing going through his mind.

There was going to be hell to pay for this.


	6. On to the Next One

Raditz frowned as he pressed the buttons on his scouter. He was trying to sync up to Vegeta's scouter, but there was no signal, which he assumed meant the prince had turned it off. He looked back towards Nappa, giving a brisk shake of his head. Nappa was standing in front of his space pod, leaning casually back against it with his arms crossed. He scowled, wondering what was taking the prince. Both Saiyans were ready to go, and were just waiting for Vegeta so they could go take care of the next assignment.

Cui and Jhainer were both not too far away from them on the dock, doing rapid, expert checks of their space pods, each teenager trying to launch as soon as possible. Cui had decided to postpone his meeting with Manzin in favor of getting a jump on all three of his competitors, thereby choosing himself over any potential alliance. Jhainer's mentality wasn't much different.

Finally, Jhainer was satisfied and he quickly climbed into his space pod, with the latch door shutting behind him. Cui was only a fraction of a second behind him, scrambling into his own space pod in a desperate attempt to keep up. Nappa and Raditz didn't flinch as both space pods blasted off moments later, barreling up into the sky, followed quickly by two empty space pods that would return full. A few seconds later, and they were all out of sight.

"Vegeta's going to be pissed now," Raditz grumbled to the eldest Saiyan. "And I bet he's gonna blame us for not letting him know that Jhainer and Cui already took off."

"The kid must've lost track of time, I guess," Nappa grumbled back, even though he knew the idea was ridiculous before the words had even left his mouth. The young prince was nothing if not meticulous when it came to details.

" _Prince Vegeta_ losing track of the time. Right," Raditz snorted mockingly, rolling his eyes.

"Watch how you use that title, third class," Nappa growled in warning. "Try to see if you can pick up his power and locate him that way."

Raditz scowled but he reached up to his scouter to do as he was told. The lights started running on his scouter while he stared off into the distance, but after a few minutes, he looked back to Nappa and shook his head.

"Nothing that matches his power level."

This time, the two Saiyans fell into a tense silence while they stared uneasily at each other. They both knew for a fact that Vegeta hadn't left the planet, because they were standing right there on the space pod dock. The only way his power level would've dropped was if he'd been beaten in a fight, or if he was dead.

"Let me see," Nappa finally said, reaching up to activate his own scouter. After all, if Raditz' scouter was malfunctioning and they went after Vegeta, they would only delay things further – a consequence that would earn them hell from their prince.

The lights had barely flashed across Nappa's scouter when Zarbon smoothly strolled out of Frieza's base and onto the space pod dock. He was half-dragging, half-pulling a barely conscious Manzin along with him, holding the young alien up on his feet with a strong hand on his brand new silver set of armor with the appropriate black cape to go along with it. When Zarbon got close enough to Manzin's space pod, he roughly threw the boy towards it. Manzin helplessly crashed on the ground facedown in front of his pod, with no strength to get up after the vicious beating that had only mercifully ended moments ago. He gasped for air, eyes squeezed shut in pain, but Zarbon and the Saiyans ignored him.

"Where's your precious monkey prince?" Zarbon asked, glancing over at Vegeta's unoccupied space pod.

Nappa quickly deactivated his scouter, and then lowered his head in a show of respect. "On his way, Zarbon."

Thinking nothing of it, Zarbon gave a mild shrug and then started to head back towards base. If Vegeta wanted to be late, he was only hurting himself and his own chances to earn rank. After all, in the end, it didn't matter to Zarbon which man moved up; they would listen to him and obey his orders regardless.

He was just about to go back inside when Vegeta finally dropped down in front of his men. Zarbon only glanced over in curiosity, but he was shocked at the sight of the youngest Saiyan. Vegeta was visibly roughened up, with nasty dark bruises spreading on his face, and parts of his face busted open and bleeding. The prince was barely able to stand, prompting Raditz to instinctively grab the teenager by the back of his armor to steady him and hold him upright.

"What happened, Vegeta? Who did this to you?" Nappa asked in surprise. Seeing Vegeta this beaten wasn't a rare occurrence; in fact, the prince was usually left in worse condition after meetings with Frieza. But Vegeta was a preliminary ranked man, which meant he had immunity, and they all knew it.

The prince just shook his head. "Never mind that. Let's go," he rasped, favoring his ribs and trying not to be obvious about it.

"You might not have to answer to your low brow monkey friends, Vegeta," Zarbon suddenly cut in, effortlessly shoving Nappa aside to walk right up to the young prince. "But you _will_ answer to me. What happened?"

Vegeta looked confused for a moment as he craned his head back to look up at Zarbon. For a brief moment, the prince wondered if he'd suffered a more serious head injury than he thought, because he could've sworn he heard genuine concern in Zarbon's voice. The lieutenant had never once shown any concern for his well-being, and had delivered worse beatings to him than the one he'd just taken.

Vegeta studied Zarbon's eyes for a few seconds, before scowling as realization set in. Zarbon _was_ concerned, but it was for his own skin. Dodoria might have been handling the main training, but Zarbon was the one to ensure that the rules for the rank qualifying squad were followed to the letter. If Frieza caught wind of this, Zarbon would be the one who would pay dearly for allowing Vegeta's immunity to be broken.

The teenaged prince looked down, feeling foolish for thinking even for a second that Zarbon actually gave a damn about him. He knew that no one did. And, deep down, he knew that no one ever would.

When Vegeta lapsed into a bitter and stubborn silence, Zarbon roughly grabbed him by the jaw and forced them to make eye contact again.

"You tell me who is responsible for this, so I can handle the incident appropriately," Zarbon snarled, his patience starting to wear out with the boy standing in front of him.

"I don't know who it was. They attacked before I could see," Vegeta hissed out through his teeth, his dark eyes blazing with defiance. He and Zarbon had a fierce stare down for several tense moments while Raditz and Nappa exchanged worried looks.

"So be it then," Zarbon said as he released his grip. "You'll need a new cape to signify your immunity. You can get one when you return, but you'll receive a thrashing because of the expense and inconvenience."

"What? Why?" Vegeta yelled, his face reddening with growing rage.

"Because, _boy,_ your gear is your responsibility. You will learn to take care of the equipment you've been granted."

"But it wasn't even my fault-"

"Let's make that twice the usual punishment," Zarbon smoothly interrupted.

Vegeta snarled, "That's bullshit-!"

"Three times the usual then, with the electric whip. Are you done yet, boy, or shall I continue?"

Vegeta fell into silence, sinking his teeth into his ripped bottom lip and uncaring of the fresh blood running down his chin or the way his whole face throbbed in response. The skin on his back and arms was still pulsing and burning from the last thrashing he'd taken which hadn't yet healed, but that didn't matter. This was the way Zarbon was punishing him for not naming any of his attackers by name; the lieutenant would have jumped on any excuse to deliver another round of punishment for defying him, no matter how minor. The prince refused to name Ajox though, and so he had no choice but to shut his mouth and bite back his rage. He would soon be in a purge anyways, where he could relieve his frustrations the only way he knew how.

"That's what I thought," Zarbon arrogantly said, smirking as he patted Vegeta on the shoulder. "Report back to me as soon as you return with your recruit. Good luck, monkey prince."

Vegeta grunted, and then impatiently shrugged out of Raditz' grip on his armor as Zarbon walked away. The prince looked over towards Manzin's space pod and scowled. Manzin had by now pulled himself up, and was slowly and gingerly easing himself into his space pod. Vegeta looked towards his men and made a quick, silent hand gesture signaling them to get into their own space pods. Nappa and Raditz nodded and did just that while Vegeta angrily limped over to Manzin.

Manzin was slowly taking out his spare blue scouter from a compartment in his pod, when it was slapped right out of his shaking hand. He looked up and growled at the sight of the teenaged Saiyan leaning into his space pod, the fur on his body starting to bristle with his growing rage. To strike Vegeta in such clear view of Frieza's base would have been asking for more hellacious punishment, and he'd had his fill for the day. Still, it was tempting to slam his fist into Vegeta's face and shatter some of his teeth for putting him into a horrible situation in the first place.

"You're dead, Saiyan," Manzin swore, his voice unsteady with intense hatred. "Either as part of his competition or after I win it, you won't live to see the next solar cycle."

Vegeta glared at the older boy as his tail slowly tightened around his waist. Finally, his eyes narrowed. "We'll just see about that. Luckily for you, though, you're not number one on my list anymore, Manzin. Your brother is. But don't worry. As soon as he's dead, you'll get your spot back. I promise."

Manzin blinked a few times, stunned at the threat towards his brother who had a higher power level than he and Vegeta combined. Not only that, but Ajox was one of Frieza's top men. After a few moments though, Manzin relaxed and chuckled, trying not to wince in pain when he did. Now the bruises and bloodied lacerations on Vegeta's face made sense.

"Your arrogance will be your downfall, Vegeta."

"Enough talk. Tell Ajox that I want him to meet me, alone, on a planet of my choosing in the galaxy that's holding the tournament we're scouting. Just the two of us there, and no one else. We'll fight there, and only one of us will leave the planet alive."

Manzin was fairly certain that he was going to pass out as soon as his space pod took off, but for the moment, he was left stunned over Vegeta's words. For a moment, the black hatred of Manzin's eyes eased and there was a hint of orange as wariness took over. He'd always known that the prince was arrogant, but this was on another level. Was he really that cocky to think he could defeat a rank 3 man without anyone else's help?

"What's the matter?" Vegeta growled after growing tired of the prolonged silence. "Are you afraid that your brother is that much of a coward that he won't accept my challenge? Or is he too weak to fight me when I'm actually prepared for him?"

Manzin's eyes flashed to a dark red, which made Vegeta smirk with anticipation. Manzin bared his teeth as his eyes quickly reverted to their black slits of hatred. "If you're that eager to die, Saiyan, then so be it. You just tell me what planet you want Ajox on and he'll be there."

"What's he going to say when he takes his space pod?" Vegeta demanded, wanting to make sure all his angles were covered. "Surely he won't say that he's heading off to his death, will he?"

"You don't want anything traced back to you, do you?"

"If you're so sure that he's going to defeat me in battle, then we wouldn't want Frieza knowing he killed me. He likes your brother, but he likes me more."

"Ajox doesn't have to say anything. He can go wherever he likes, since they can track his space pod regardless. He's a rank 3 man and he's on leave right now. You just tell me where and when you want to die, Saiyan, and I'll pass your death wish along."

Vegeta chuckled, licking some of the blood off his lip. He straightened and patted the top of Manzin's space pod a few times. "Make your peace with your brother while you can, because I'll be laughing in his ashes soon."

Manzin angrily slammed his fist into the button to raise the latch on his space pod hard enough to make it spark with electricity, but Vegeta was already limping back over towards his space pod. The prince was favoring his ribs with his left arm, and he wiped angrily at his eyes to get rid of the blood trickling down into them. Nappa and Raditz were already situated in their pods, just waiting for him. He was still shuffling along when he heard Manzin's space pod blast off behind him, followed quickly by the empty pod for his new recruit.

Vegeta practically collapsed into his own space pod moments later. He just shifted over enough to kick at the button to raise the latch, using his broken foot and uncaring of the pain that fired up his entire leg a moment later.

" _Destination set to: Nioren, Galaxy #66 in the west sector. Awaiting verbal command from Vegeta, soldier rank preliminary, to launch."_

"Launch, damn thing, LAUNCH!" Vegeta screamed, trying his best to rearrange himself so he was sitting upright in his pod.

The initial wave of acceleration slammed into him as his space pod blasted off into flight, and he waited a few seconds for it to pass until he tried again. It took a moment, but finally he was sitting up, out of breath and soaked in sweat. He squinted through the glass portal, but only saw a series of red and blue colors as they passed through the atmosphere of the planet. Vegeta reached into one of the spare compartments overhead with a shaking hand, pulling out a spare, red scouter. He slipped it on and activated it, entering his identification to sync it back up with base.

The young prince finally leaned his head back, staring blankly out of the portal window as the colors faded and then only the darkness of space was visible. Vegeta looked down at himself, swallowing as he did. His foot was in bad shape, straining against his boot, even with the tear in the instep. His back was burning, and he knew for a fact that several of his ribs were broken. None of the injuries were new to him, and he would never outwardly complain about them. He was a warrior. He would endure, just like he always did – but could he endure his injuries in a battle to the death against an older, stronger, more experienced warrior?

Vegeta slowly leaned forward until he was hunched over, both hands sliding up into his upswept hair as he grabbed two tight fistfuls of it and closed his eyes. He _could_ win, but he needed a plan to compensate for his injuries, lest he die on this mission. He was suddenly regretting his impulsive decision to challenge Ajox so soon. In retrospect, he should have waited until he was healed. But the challenge was already issued, and now he was honor-bound to fulfill it, even if it meant his very death.

Death, however, was not an option. He had to survive and grow stronger so he could defeat Frieza and have his vengeance. He accepted the responsibility, though at the moment, alone in the darkness of his space pod, it felt like an enormous and damn near impossible burden on his shoulders. Frieza was still so much more powerful than he was. It would take years, decades even, before he could be strong enough to challenge the tyrant. That meant more years of pain, starvation, and torture he needed to suffer through. Moments like these, the thought alone was daunting.

After around ten minutes, the prince finally lowered his hands and reached down under the seat of his space pod. His fingers hit a small, secret compartment he had added that no one else knew about, not even Raditz or Nappa. He flipped it open and then leaned back as he inspected he'd pulled out, the same way he did before every mission. It was sharp, jagged, and broken, like him, but it still existed – also like him. It was a broken piece of his armor set from when he was a child, the only piece he kept after shattering the armor set, and it had his royal family crest engraved on it.

Vegeta frowned as he stared at the piece of broken armor in his gloved hand for a long time. Finally, he clenched his fist tightly around it, so tight that he felt the jagged edges tearing through his glove and into his skin. Warm blood started pouring between his fingers as he looked back up through the space portal at the stars flashing by.

His vengeance would come one day, but he had a thing or two to take care of first.

* * *

Somewhere along the way, he must've fallen into an exhausted, dreamless sleep. It felt like only minutes had passed when Vegeta's eyes suddenly snapped open and he sat upright in his space pod. Raditz was saying something over the communications, his red scouter was flashing, and there was a bright light outside of the portal window on his pod. The prince squinted, raising one hand up to block out the light as he read the words that were scrolling on his scouter in Galactic Standard.

_Tie-breaking procedures are by power level. 1-Manzin, 2-Vegeta, 3-Cui, 4-Jhainer. When you've reported your recruit, you cannot change your choice, unless someone of higher power level wants your recruit. Report back to base in two days at 110X with your recruit. Confirm receipt of message._

Vegeta instinctively confirmed the message on his scouter, and then hit the button to open up the latch. He winced as light washed inside, keeping one hand up to shield his eyes while he lethargically climbed out to get on with his next task.

"We're clear, there's no one anywhere close to us," Raditz informed him. Vegeta nodded, slowly limping over to where his Saiyan comrades were standing as his vision cleared up.

"What else?" the prince gruffly ordered.

"We're on Planet Nioren, which is close to multiple suns. There is never any nightfall, which is why this planet is always chosen to host the interplanetary tournament. The tournament is very prestigious and the winner is rewarded enough riches to feed everyone on their planet ten times over, as well as galaxy-wide recognition. The tournament's held once every three solar cycles by the Cold calendar. The power conversion on my scouter says each kid needs a power level of at least 1,500 just to qualify."

"So all of these kids are tough enough to end you, Raditz, is that what you're telling us?" Nappa snickered, earning a glare from Raditz.

"We'll see about that," Raditz continued, squaring his shoulders. "None of these fights are ever to the death. These brats are trained in pure martial arts. They're trained to fight with honor. They know nothing about life and death battle."

"They will learn soon enough," Vegeta muttered, raising a hand to his scouter to find the strongest fighters in the tournament. "There will be no riches for the winner this time around."

"Nioren is very scientifically advanced. Frieza often comes here to recruit some of the scientists to be his technicians. There could potentially be military resistance when we try to take a kid."

"How serious a problem?"

"Minor, not serious. Just an annoyance."

"When does the tournament start?"

"We have some time yet."

"Hn," Vegeta grunted, scanning over his body quickly in frustration. It was draining just to remain standing, but the day had barely started. Raditz and Nappa exchanged a look before they looked back at the teenager in front of them. The bruises on his face had worsened, and his left eye was completely bloodshot and twitching rhythmically.

"Vegeta," Raditz quietly started, ignoring Nappa shaking his head at him. "If you want, we can choose the second strongest fighter to come with us and you can stay here. You don't look very-"

His words were immediately cut off with a fast and violent uppercut straight to the chin, sending the Saiyan flying backwards and landing hard on his back. Raditz felt the pain from the blow radiate up his whole face and then shoot down into his neck and shoulders, before it centered in his mouth. He could feel some broken pieces from a tooth or two rattling in his mouth which was now filled with warm blood. His tongue felt like it was on fire.

Raditz barely had the chance to raise his head before Vegeta planted his good foot right into his throat, applying ruthless pressure.

"Don't you EVER insinuate that I am weak," Vegeta snarled, increasing the force as Raditz tried to shove his foot off to no avail. "I do not need either of you weaklings to help me complete my mission. I am fully capable of finding a brat to recruit, purging his planet, AND killing you both on my own. Understand?"

"Yes!" Raditz desperately rasped out. Vegeta scowled, keeping his boot right where it was for five additional seconds that felt like decades to Raditz, before releasing the pressure. He removed his boot, and levitated up a few feet, glaring over at Nappa.

"Let's go," he ordered, and blasted off without further hesitation into a flash of blue light in the sky.

Vegeta kept his eyes straight ahead, flying at full speed and completely indifferent to the fact that Nappa and Raditz had no hope of keeping pace with him at this velocity. He easily placed Jhainer, Cui, and Manzin; between the four of them, they were hands down the most powerful beings on the planet. They had each landed on four opposite ends of the planet.

Vegeta reached up with his scouter to establish a transmission with Jhainer, when the Trikan boy suddenly appeared out of nowhere, teleporting mere inches in front of the prince. Completely caught off guard, Vegeta couldn't slow down in time and he collided with Jhainer, both teenagers barreling together out of the sky until they crashed right into the ground, sand exploding around them on impact.

"Goddamned Trikan," Vegeta hissed a moment later, shoving Jhainer away from him, "Get off me, imbecile!"

"Why don't you watch where the hell you're going, Saiyan?" Jhainer irritably demanded, pulling himself up so he was sitting, his thick blue tail angrily lashing against the ground. He leapt up to his feet moments later with ease before dusting off his silver armor.

"Me?" Vegeta cried out, pulling himself up so he was sitting, his left arm secured against his ribs. He shot the older boy a nasty glare, and was breathless when he yelled, "I'm not the one with the teleportation device, idiot!"

"You're also not paying any damn attention to your surroundings," Jhainer snorted. He paused in thought when he saw the condition Vegeta was in. The Saiyan hadn't looked like _that_ when they parted ways after getting briefed on base. "What happened to _you_?"

"Nothing," Vegeta grumbled, slowly pulling himself up to his feet, leaning all of his weight on his left leg. He cursed under his breath as he wiped off the sand on his armor.

"Right," Jhainer knowingly said, his good eye cold and hard as he frowned. After a moment, the young Trikan slowly squatted down. With one blue, clawed finger, he drew out one word in the sand so no one would overhear on their scouters.

_Ajox?_

Vegeta glared down at the name, then shifted his dark gaze to make eye contact with Jhainer. He was partially inclined to involve the other boy, but to kill one of Frieza's ranked men was a grave offense that could potentially mean his own death at Frieza's hands if word got back to the tyrant. One slip of the tongue from Jhainer, and his life could be over. He knew Manzin would never say a word to Frieza should Ajox die at his hands, because he would want his own retribution. Nappa and Raditz didn't know his plan to challenge Ajox, but they would soon. They also wouldn't say a word. But did he trust Jhainer to that degree? It was a tremendous risk.

Finally, Vegeta roughly kicked at the name, purposely sending sand flying right into Jhainer's face. The prince sneered at Jhainer, exposing his canines in blatant challenge.

The Trikan snarled as he shot up to his feet, and without any further hesitation, he flew right into Vegeta, slamming into his midsection and sending them both crashing back into the sand and right into an impromptu brawl. Both teenagers were struggling to gain the upper hand as they grappled in the sand, each trying to gain leverage, both hitting the other wherever and whenever they could. Finally, Vegeta mounted Jhainer, striking him with a hard punch to the face. Jhainer easily blocked the second punch, hauling Vegeta down and smashing his elbow hard into the Saiyan's nose. Jhainer's tail reached around and hooked into the top of Vegeta's armor, roughly throwing the younger boy right off.

Both scrambled up to their feet instantly, sizing each other up for a few seconds. Vegeta brushed at his nose, leaving more blood stains on his gloves, before flashing Jhainer an amused smirk. The Trikan nudged his injured side a bit, tasting a hint of blood in his mouth, before returning the smirk. Jhainer's race wasn't bred for combat like the Saiyans, but he had been trained for battle since he could walk. He loved a good fight just as much as the Saiyan standing across from him, and it showed in his exceptional skillset.

Vegeta spit out a mouthful of blood, before going to say something when there was a crunching sound behind them. They instantly whirled around, tensed now for life and death battle instead of a sporting brawl, but there was no one there. For the first time, Vegeta finally took in his surroundings on the planet. They were encircled by dark, enormous structures that stretched far into the sky, disappearing into red and yellow clouds. The structures looked like they were made of rock, but they were curved and looping amongst themselves like snakes, as though writing in a language he didn't understand.

Jhainer let his scouter run a few seconds, his battle stance unchanged. He frowned as he lowered his hand. "I got some readings but they're all under 2,000," he softly said. "Everyone is heading towards the tournament. We should go too-"

"Shut up, Trikan," Vegeta hissed, straining his hearing as he watched the blinking lights on his scouter. In the distance, he heard faint footsteps. "I think someone is trailing us and I'm going to find out just who it is."

Without a sound, the prince advanced, staying in the dark shadows cast by the structures to remain undetected. Jhainer moved with him, staying close behind, both of them moving in complete silence. Finally, the teenagers came up to a wall of rock with some shrubs. Vegeta, having levitated the whole way, leaned up with his back against the wall, and then they both peeked around the corner.

There were four aliens gathered together, surrounding a fire with white and blue flames. Strung up over the fire was some animal that looked like it'd only been skinned moments ago. The aliens were small, silver, and sleek, as though designed by metal. They only had two all-black eyes on their heads with two holes on either side where their ears should've been. No hair, no noses, no mouths. They were all small, none of them surpassing Vegeta and Jhainer in height.

The two smallest aliens looked to be engaged in a spar of some kind while the other two aliens sat and watched silently. All were dressed in loose, black rags, making them appear poor. But the fighting was anything but. Vegeta watched with wide eyes, captivated by a fighting style he'd never seen before. The aliens moved with such natural fluidity and speed, phasing in and out of sight, countering moves again and again. They must have been trained, and trained well. They had instincts though that couldn't be taught.

"Well there goes your theory about enemies on our trail," Jhainer whispered lowly so only Vegeta could hear him.

"Hn. They must be preparing for the tournament," Vegeta whispered back.

"They're both impressive. Powerful for children," Jhainer relented, earning a grunt of agreement from the prince with him. "No surprise Lord Frieza sent us here to recruit."

"Perhaps we should introduce ourselves," Vegeta whispered, a smirk spreading over his face.

"Zarbon said we're not supposed to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves. If they find out what we're truly here for, it could jeopardize the entire mission."

"When the hell did Zarbon say that?"

"He told us on our scouters before we left base."

"Ah, well, my scouter was broken at the time, so I didn't get that message."

"Vegeta-"

"Calm yourself, Trikan. The tournament hasn't even started yet, right? There is nothing to do anyways. Might as well see what these brats are made of when the lights aren't focused on them," Vegeta snickered. Jhainer just shook his head in disapproval, but did nothing to stop the Saiyan as he levitated over, entering the view of the other aliens. Jhainer hesitated a moment, glancing over in the direction of the tournament which was going to get underway soon, and then followed after the prince.

The spar between the two smallest aliens came to an abrupt halt at the sight of the two young soldiers coming into view. Vegeta chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest, amused at how all four of the aliens stood and gathered together, with the two small fighters in front, their small, silver hands balled into fists. He couldn't read those black eyes, but he knew just from the body language that they were afraid. As well they should have been.

"We didn't mean to interrupt," Vegeta informed them, maintaining his levitation to hide his limp. He gestured towards where the spar had been taking place. "Please, do continue. We're eager to see more of your fighting skills."

The four aliens stared blankly back at him, unmoving. "Seems like you wrecked the festivities, Vegeta," Jhainer softly said, exposing his sharp teeth when the Saiyan got close to the animal over the flames.

"I do that a lot, it seems," Vegeta chuckled, reaching in with his gloved hand and ripping right into the dead animal with his fingers. He tore out a chunk of half-raw meat and sniffed it carefully, before chucking the piece into his mouth. His stomach growled with hunger – he couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten, and he eagerly ripped out a larger piece of the animal's flesh. He turned back to the teenager with him. "Hungry?"

Jhainer stepped forward, his own starvation getting the better of him. He ripped out a piece of meat for himself while Vegeta chewed, staring at the aliens across the flames from him. He smiled and dusted off his hands, gesturing again for the spar to continue. He couldn't tell the genders of the aliens, but he didn't care. The two runts could fight, and he wanted to see them in action.

"Go on, I want to see more," Vegeta ordered again, waving his hand back to where the two small aliens had been fighting. When he was again met with silence, the prince's eyes darkened considerably, and his tail slowly unwrapped from around his waist with his growing ire. "That's twice now that I've told you brats to get back to fighting. I believe that's one time too many."

"Vegeta, they probably don't understand you," Jhainer said in between bites of his meal.

"Is that so? Well, fortunately, there are other ways to get the message across."

Vegeta suddenly phased in and grabbed one of the larger and weaker aliens, gripping them roughly by their rags. In a flash, he had the alien's face inches away from the white-hot flames on the ground, easily holding the weaker being in place.

 _No!_ a boy's voice echoed in Vegeta's head in panic. The prince glanced over at one of the small fighters who had stepped up, and grinned.

 _Telepathic, are we now?_ Vegeta sent back mockingly.

 _Y-yes,_ the boy sent back, bowing his head in respect. There was no way for him to express fear on his face, but there was terror in his heavily accented voice. _My name is Raum. I was fighting with my brother Adriel. We are with our sisters in preparation for the tournament. Please, don't harm us._

The Saiyan stayed in silence for a moment, frowning in thought. He looked forward at the female alien in his grasp who was struggling helplessly to get away from the flames that were threatening to burn her any second now. The Saiyan snorted and pulled her back, throwing her roughly to the ground. He then turned his sights towards the smallest alien there, the boy who had communicated with him telepathically. Raum's attention was distracted as he and his siblings rushed towards the fallen alien woman.

Vegeta instantly intercepted Raum, wrapping one hand around his throat and brutally slamming him back into a structure of rock. He heard an alarmed telepathic cry in his head, and his battle sense picked up the other small fighter, Adriel, running desperately towards him to defend his brother. Jhainer phased in immediately and fired a vicious ki blast into Adriel's face before the boy could attack Vegeta, sending him crashing back to the sand. He rolled over, clutching his face in pain.

The prince chuckled, looking back at the boy in his grasp who was struggling to free the grip around his throat.

"Can you hear what I'm saying, boy?" Vegeta demanded, tightening his grip. Raum nodded. "Excellent. Now, I spared your- _sister_ , wasn't it? I believe I'm due something in return for being so merciful today. What do you think?"

 _We have nothing to give,_ Raum sent telepathically with a whimper.

"Oh, I think you have plenty to give. Here is what I want you and your brother to do. I want you both to advance into the semi-finals, and then purposely lose your fights there. Look as bad and as pathetic as possible when you do."

_But we need the riches! Our father is ill, and-_

"Calm down, boy. If you do this for me, I promise I will take care of your father for you and the rest of your family. You and your brother will both be...handsomely rewarded."

 _No,_ Raum sent back, his voice unwavering. Vegeta just smiled at him.

"Jhainer," he ordered, his smile slowly turning sadistic. "Kill all three of them."

 _NO!_ Raum desperately pleaded.

Jhainer chuckled, his blue tail waving as he went back over to the cooking animal. "I don't take orders from you, Vegeta. Handle your own problems."

"So be it," Vegeta growled, raising his free palm out towards the remaining three aliens.

 _Alright, I agree! I accept! Just please, don't hurt them!_ Raum cried mentally. Vegeta looked back at him, fascinated to see that his black eyes were now shining. The prince blinked, and then frowned when he realized they were tears. He promptly released his grip on the boy's throat, sending him falling back to the ground. Raum scrambled over to his brother, helping pull the boy up as they staggered over towards their older sisters and huddled together in fear.

"I'll be watching the tournament from beginning to end," Vegeta warned, making eye contact with all of them. "Any of you try anything, and I mean _anything_ , I will kill all four of you, then find your planet and kill everyone there. Understand?" They all nodded, and he gestured for them to leave. "Go, get prepared for your fights. I will be watching soon."

Jhainer was silent as he watched the aliens leave. He was squatting down and eating meat from the animal that was half-bones by this point. He ripped off a piece and held it over the fire to cook it more when Vegeta came up next to him to eat as well. The two teenagers ate in a comfortable silence, both of them staring into the white flames.

"You should have just let both boys fight to their maximum capacity," Jhainer softly commented after a few minutes. He reclined back and sat down on the sand. "Get them some fighting experience, and truly see what they can do."

"And let Manzin see their potential?" Vegeta snorted. "I don't think so."

"What the hell does it matter to you? Even if he got one of them, you could get the other. You have second choice."

"I don't want Manzin to get one of them, idiot. If neither of them make it into the finals, then he definitely won't pick them. If they can't make it into the semi-finals at all, then I won't pick them either," Vegeta snidely explained, slowly sitting down as well. He gingerly stretched out his feet, trying not to wince when he did. Unspoken by the prince was the fact that if he somehow failed, he preferred Jhainer to win over Cui and Manzin. It was unspoken but well understood, not to mention mutual. They lapsed into another comfortable silence for some time, until Jhainer's soft voice finally broke it.

"This is the first time I've recruited." The prince next to him looked over at him curiously, but Jhainer was staring into the flames, his good eye narrowed. "Those children have no idea what we're going to do to them and their homes."

"We have our orders. No point in dwelling on it."

"You ever dwell on what happened to _your_ planet?"

"My planet is none of your business," Vegeta snapped.

"I think about my planet often," Jhainer quietly admitted, sounding far older than his years. "You're fortunate, Vegeta. You have two of your people here with you."

Vegeta looked away. "Nappa and Raditz are idiots."

"Perhaps, but they're Saiyan. I haven't tasted the air of Trika in…" Jhainer's voice trailed off, and he shook his head.

"You will see your native land again when you earn rank."

Jhainer shot Vegeta an amused look as his thorny tail rose up behind him. "Are you finally conceding that I will emerge the victorious man in the rank qualifying squad?"

"You will, but not from _this_ squad. You can try again after I win though."

Jhainer shook his head. "Arrogant words from the individual with zero points thus far."

"Unnecessary concerns from the weakest member in the squad." Vegeta chuckled at the glare that he got from the older teenager before his scouter beeped. He reached up, and accepted a live communications link with Nappa. "What is it?"

"We've arrived at the tournament. Manzin and Cui are already here, and are seated at the front. This place is huge, Vegeta. There are lots of fighters."

"When will it begin?" the prince demanded.

"Five minutes."

"I'll be there."

Vegeta cut the transmission, looking over at Jhainer. "Looks like our break is over. Time to get back to work."

"Yes. Back to Lord Frieza's work," Jhainer muttered, barely able to hide the remarkable bitterness in his voice.

Vegeta frowned, not saying anything to that as he slowly got up to his feet. The two teenagers were soaring through the air only moments later. Yes, it was back to Frieza's endless work. One day though, it would end - and it would end by _his_ hand.

Unfortunately for all of them, that day was not today.


	7. Recruiting

The tournament crowd at Nioren wasn't bloodthirsty like others he'd seen in his travels, but they were loud and rowdy nonetheless, itching for the action to begin. The stakes were high for the tournament's winner and there was no shortage of spectators, the massive outdoor arena filled to capacity and then some. Not wanting to draw more attention to himself than necessary, Vegeta subtly limped his way through the crowd as he made his way down the stadium seats towards the other Saiyans, who were holding a spot for him at the front. There were many different alien races there, so no one paid him any attention, which was good. The lower profile he could keep, the easier time he would have at assessing the "talent" that was going to be on display.

Finally, he emerged towards the front at ground level, surveying the battleground in front of him at the center of the arena. A large oval of blue sand stretched before him, some of it stirring with the wind. The teenager scowled when he saw Manzin opposite the sand fighting pit, also on ground level and glaring at him. Vegeta glared at him for a moment, and then limped his way over to where Nappa and Raditz were waiting for him.

"It's just about to start," Nappa informed him.

Vegeta gave a nod, sitting between the two older Saiyans on a sleek black metallic bench that gave them a good sight into the action, while giving them breathing room from behind so no one could get too close to them. Deep down, the prince was also grateful for the chance to sit down and rest. He relaxed about the most he ever allowed himself to relax, which wasn't much. A warrior always had to mind his surroundings, after all.

The prince looked around, but when he couldn't catch sight of Jhainer or Cui, he activated his scouter. He and Jhainer had split up on the way there. When he finally placed both older teens strategically sitting on opposite sides of the arena, he crossed his arms over his chest and turned to the action starting before him. He watched as the young fighters in the tournament came out and started to stretch. Four of them were enjoying the last moments they would ever have of freedom, before they were going to be violently introduced to Frieza's Galactic Army.

 _Vegeta, I memorized the whole scouting report on Trika, Jhainer's home planet,_ he heard Raditz' voice say in his head. Vegeta frowned as he looked at him out of the corner of his eye. _Do you want it now?_

 _Not yet – later when we're back at base,_ he mentally sent back. Raditz gave a subtle nod just as the crowd roared as the first contestants were announced.

"Do ya want something to drink, Vegeta?" Nappa offered, glancing around. "I think I saw some weakling walking around here with some drinks."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "We haven't vetted the beverages here, so we can't take the risk of poison, so no."

"Aw, but I'm thirsty," Nappa whined as the teenaged prince chuckled.

"You'll live," he informed him, before smirking as he looked back at Raditz out of the corner of his eye. "But if you really want to, we could just make Raditz be the test subject to make sure the drinks aren't poisoned, since his life is meaningless."

Raditz growled a little, but could say nothing, lest he piss Vegeta off inadvertently. Nappa and Vegeta both laughed out loud at his discomfort though, and once again, he lamented being the weakest of the three.

Still chuckling, Vegeta made a beckoning motion with his fingers towards Nappa. "Alright, hand over the screener. It's time to learn more about these brats."

Nappa did as he was told, retrieving from his armor a small handheld black electronic device with a glass screen and built-in beacon. He dutifully handed it to Vegeta, who took it with a grunt. The prince activated it, putting in his personal password to log into Frieza's galactic scouting network. The device gave them a mobile way to get a read on different alien species; it was not as thorough as the full scouting reports available on base, but it gave enough in the moment, which was all he needed.

Vegeta glanced up as the first fight began, the crowd roaring its approval. It was so loud, he likely was only going to be relying on his telepathy to converse with his comrades, even though they were seated right next to him. The prince watched for only a few seconds, before grunting and looking back down. Both the boys fighting before him weren't half as good as the ones he and Jhainer had stumbled upon, and so he was quickly bored with it.

The teenager absently wiped some sweat from his brow, grateful he was sitting, as he vaguely reconsidered getting something to drink. He was exhausted, dehydrated, and still in considerable pain which was only worsening. The tournament was only just beginning, and then he still had a purge to complete. Then there was still the not-so-small issue of Ajox…but, he had a plan now, devised on his way over to the tournament. He smirked, knowing that little problem would be taken care of soon.

Vegeta glanced up again as some move got the rise of the crowd; unimpressed, he lowered his eyes again to his device as he activated the beacon. Looking back up now, he scanned the fighters of the tournament as they were all lined up on the side, watching the action. It only took him a moment to find the boys he and Jhainer had found, Raum and Adriel, and he tuned the beacon directly to them.

He blinked the sweat out of his eyes as the beacon pulsed on the screen (very similar to a certain dragonball locator in another far off galaxy). Finally, the device beeped and a summarized report appeared. He frowned as he read it over quietly to himself.

_**Alien species** _ _**confirmed. Report authorized read-only to:** _ _Vegeta, soldier rank preliminary.  
_ _**Species** _ _**Name** _ _: Drokanian.  
_ _**HomePlanet:** _ _Drokania, galaxy #66 in the west sector.  
_ _**PlanetDetails:** _ _Medium sized, plentiful vegetation, many large cities, three moons.  
_ _**SpeciesDetails:** _ _Telepathic, no natural ki manipulation ability, warrior race that specializes in martial arts and explosive warfare._

Vegeta raised an eyebrow curiously at the last part, his dark eyes shifting up to the young Raum and Adriel. _Explosive warfare,_ that was interesting to note for later. He frowned at the lack of ki manipulation ability – anyone could be taught to harness, handle, and manipulate ki. But if you weren't born with a natural ability, it could take years to learn the techniques and discipline needed…unfortunately, he didn't have years to teach one of the little runts how to do it so they could earn him a point in the competition. He rubbed at his chin a little in disappointment, wondering if he should scope out other recruits who had more expertise in ki manipulation, when the crowd roared again. He looked back towards the fight which was ending, pleased that he could scope out new fighters soon.

"Vegeta, can I _please_ have something to drink?" Nappa whined. "The drinks look so good!"

Vegeta scowled in annoyance, already turning the screener to another alien child gearing up to fight and turning the beacon on them. He glanced up briefly, looking off behind the child fighters to where Jhainer was sitting, then going counter-clockwise to Manzin, then to Cui. All of them were doing the same thing he was, using their own screeners to get an idea of what they were dealing with.

"Fine," Vegeta finally growled in annoyance, looking back down as his screener beeped. "But if you get sick, I'm breaking your teeth, and if you get poisoned and die, we are leaving your corpse here," he threatened.

"We couldn't be so lucky," Raditz snickered. Nappa gave him a nasty look before quickly rising before Vegeta changed his mind. The two watched him chase after someone going through the stands trying to sell drinks to a rowdy alien crowd.

"Find anyone you like?" Raditz asked when they were alone. Vegeta grunted and looked back down, frowning at the next report on the screener popped up with a beep, again pointing out no natural ki ability. He frowned thoughtfully, wondering if many none in this galaxy had the ability. If that was the case, he'd stick with either of the Drokanian boys.

"Not yet, but soon enough," he grumbled as the next fight began. He glanced up only briefly, was unimpressed again by the two new fighters, and then cleared the report to try again.

Vegeta was picking which other alien child he could screen, when two alien boys suddenly scrambled past, right in front of them. The teenaged prince snarled when one of the boys knocked the screener clean out of his hand and into the dirt, the boy himself tripping over his own feet and falling into the dirt as well. Vegeta instantly stood up, his anger making Raditz' scouter light up in response.

The older Saiyan immediately grabbed the prince by the arm, his grip hard. "Low profile," he reminded his prince.

Vegeta sneered and yanked his arm free in frustration, opening his mouth to unleash some pent-up rage, when the boy quickly snatched up the screener. He scrambled up to his feet and handed it to Vegeta, who snatched it back with a growl.

"Watch where the hell you're going, little brats," he angrily said. The boy who had knocked the screener out of his hand let his gaze linger on Vegeta for just a moment – he was covered in white fur, with only one red eye on his face. The prince's eyes narrowed in recognition, but he couldn't place the boy's species in time before the child sprinted away with his friend just as the crowd roared again.

"You're gonna miss the fight, Vegeta," Raditz said, not liking the look on Vegeta's face. The prince finally grunted and begrudgingly took his seat again.

"Do you know what kind of species that boy was?" he asked, cursing that he no longer had a visual on the kid. The screener's beacon needed a clear line of sight to work.

"Nope, ain't seen his type before."

"Hn," Vegeta grunted, before shrugging as he shook his head. He looked back down at the screener and frowned when he felt something odd on the back of it. The prince turned it over, and raised an eyebrow when he did. On the back of the screener device was a note that had not been there when Nappa initially handed it to him.

The note read: _Abandoned lavatory under the arena. Come alone. No scouter._

Vegeta instantly glanced around, looking for a sign of the boys, but they were long gone. He scowled in confusion as he looked back down at the note. It could be a trap, by Ajox, maybe? No, he quickly deduced. He would have picked up on the older soldier's power level already. He fell into silence as he contemplated to himself for a few moments. When the crowd roared again as the fight ended, he stood again, taking the note and crumpling it into a fist before handing the screener to Raditz. The older Saiyan looked at him in surprise.

 _Let me know if any of these children have ability already with ki,_ Vegeta ordered. _Keep your eye on the Drokanians, see how far they get._

 _Okay, but where are you going?_ Raditz asked, prepared to provide backup.

 _Just gotta take a piss,_ Vegeta sent back, already limping off. Raditz snorted and logged himself into the screener just as Nappa came back from the other direction, juggling several wooden jugs of some green alcoholic beverage.

It took a bit of maneuvering before Vegeta finally found his way to the lower level of the arena, easily breaking through a chained wooden door to go down one level. He ran his scouter one last time as a precaution as his eyes adjusted to the dark. Above him, he could hear the thunderous roars from the crowd. No threats registered on his scouter, and so he reached up and deactivated it completely.

He was slowly shuffling along, one arm unconsciously favoring his side, his senses on full alert. From behind, a wooden door slowly cracked open, making the prince spin in that direction, one hand out and ready to summon a ki blast in a heartbeat. He stared at the door expectantly, but when no one entered or left through it, he slowly made his way over. The teenager hesitated a little just outside the door as he swallowed, before reminding himself that he was not afraid. Nodding once to himself, he opened the door and stepped inside the dark room.

"We are pleased you got our message, Prince Vegeta."

Vegeta's eyes instantly adjusted to the pitch black room, but he couldn't make out more than a short silhouette looking back at him. He frowned at the use of his real title, though he couldn't detect any mockery in it for once.

"Who are you? What do you want?" he demanded harshly.

"My name is Felsin, of the planet Pilaz. You may not remember me, boy, but I was in the room yesterday when Frieza brought you into our meeting to threaten us, using you and your story."

Realization dawned on Vegeta then, and now he realized why the boy who knocked his screener out of his hands had looked so familiar. He nodded slowly. "Yes. I remember now. What are you doing here?"

"Pilaz and this planet, Nioren, are old allies. We do business here often, as we both have advanced technology we can trade each other. It is not out of the ordinary that I be here."

"Fine, but what do you want with me? I have my own work that needs attending," Vegeta peevishly informed him, crossing his arms as his tail waved with impatience behind him.

"We are building a resistance movement, and we want you to be part of it," Felsin informed him.

"A resistance movement?" Vegeta asked warily. "Resistance against what?"

"Frieza. We're building a resistance movement to bring him down."

A chill of fear went down the young prince's spine as he took half a step backwards. This had death sentence written all over it, and he wanted no part of it. He glanced around anxiously, as though Frieza would emerge from the shadows and strike him down right where he stood. All of his instincts were telling him to _get out of there_ – if Frieza even got an _inkling_ that he was even engaging in this kind of conversation, he was looking at a painful execution.

For whatever reason though, he just stood frozen. Sure, there were moments when he and his Saiyan comrades liked to talk trash about how one day he would kill Frieza – with their scouters disconnected, of course, or through their telepathy. However, he had never had someone in front of him so blatantly discuss bringing Frieza down. There was a very real part of him that was tempted to hear more…

He shook his head, ridding himself of that stupidity as he finally found his voice.

"This is a fool's mission," the teenager growled. "He's too strong. You can't beat him."

"We have to try."

Vegeta scoffed. "You can try, but you will fail. He will kill you all."

"You don't know how many we're recruiting-"

"Oh I can imagine," Vegeta assured him angrily. "A ton of weaklings across a lot of galaxies, I bet. You're hoping they're going to stand up to Frieza? Well good luck to you all, but I won't bet my life on it. Scheme all you want, but keep me the hell out of it."

"He destroyed your _planet_ , Prince Vegeta," Felsin tried reasoning with him.

Vegeta shook his head; he didn't know the real truth of his planet's destruction. He suspected Frieza had indeed done it, but if he had, why hadn't it been thrown in his face? Frieza would have surely taunted him with it, day in and day out, to make his days even more miserable than they already were. It was enough to make him doubt.

"It doesn't matter," he finally ground out angrily. "The planet is gone, and my only interest now is earning my rank and staying alive."

"We can help you do both."

Vegeta scoffed, disgust in his dark eyes. "I don't need anyone's-"

The prince suddenly reached up when something was thrown towards his face. He caught a small vial before it hit him, and frowned as he looked it over, turning it over in his hand.

"This won't make you 100 percent, but it will mend your broken bones. Consider it a show of respect, a small hint of what we can offer you if you work with us to take Frieza down."

Vegeta's lip twitched. He hesitated for a moment, frowning as he stared at the vial. The rational side of him won again though when his eyes shifted upwards towards the man in front of him.

"Don't contact me again. If you do, I'll tell Frieza about your schemes so that he can destroy your fucking planet. I intend on living, and you won't stop that."

"You call this living, boy?"

Vegeta had Felsin shoved back hard against the wall in a heartbeat, his grip merciless on the old man's throat. The prince leaned in close as he sneered, "I ought to kill you right now."

"I knew your father," came the choking reply.

Vegeta pulled back a little, a mix of confusion, rage, and shock on his face.

"He was always an ally of Pilaz. He would have joined us, without question, especially to get you away from Frieza. Gods, you look just like him-"

He was cut off when Vegeta slammed his fist brutally hard into his stomach. The prince released him, and Felsin dropped immediately, curling up and coughing up blood.

"The old man would have joined you, eh? Well, that stupidity is probably why he's dead," Vegeta growled. With his foot, he shoved Felsin over on his back who was choking on his blood. "I spare you in honor of the old alliance you had with Planet Vegeta, just once, and _only_ once. If you ever contact me again about this, I will kill you."

He kicked Felsin hard in the ribs for good measure, before turning and leaving. Using his ki, he disintegrated the note that had summoned him there, but he held onto the vial, tucking it into his armor just in case. He would have it inspected before he used it, lest he get poisoned. The prince reactivated his scouter as he headed back to the ground level of the arena, his heart pounding hard in his chest the whole way.

He was so angry and worked up, that he never noticed the eyes that were watching him the whole time.

Instead of going back to where his Saiyan comrades were, the prince went over to the opposite side of the arena where Manzin was. It took him a while to find him, crowded as it was. When he did, he saw Manzin tense upon seeing him. Vegeta glared at him; as though he would be stupid enough to risk his life after the fiasco with the coin challenge. He watched as the older boy put aside his own screener back into his armor, his fists clenched for a fight.

It didn't come though. Instead, Vegeta came up close enough to speak only to him so no one else could hear. He deactivated his scouter, and Manzin did the same.

"Drokania, this galaxy, tonight, 010Z," Vegeta growled. "Tell him to be there, and to not let himself get tracked there."

"Ajox will be there, don't you worry about it, Saiyan."

"Make sure you say your farewells to your brother, because he dies tonight."

The prince smirked a little at the look of hatred on Manzin's face, and then he took his leave. He circled around the front row of the arena, going around the sand oval and passing by where Cui was, sneering at him in contempt as Cui gave him an obscene alien hand gesture in return. While he trekked along, Vegeta was watching the fighting going on in the sand that had everyone captivated. One of the Drokanian boys was fighting, and was making quick work of his competition. Blue sand was dusting up between them as Adriel did an aerobatic move to dodge an attack, before quickly phasing in behind his opponent and finishing the fight with one vicious kick to the neck. Vegeta raised an eyebrow. The Drokanian brothers were in their own league, and it remained to be seen if they had any real competition.

Finally, he rejoined his Saiyan comrades who were laughing at some obscene joke Raditz had made. The prince looked at Raditz, frowning as he did.

_Did you find anyone who is good with their ki?_

_None of them. They're all just skilled in martial arts._

Vegeta nodded, pleased with the news. He motioned for Nappa and Raditz to come with him, and then turned and headed out of the arena altogether. They moved silently through the crowd that was cheering themselves hoarse, and could hear the fighting growing more and more distant.

Finally, they were out of the arena, mostly in the clear. Vegeta stopped and turned back to his men who were looking at him expectantly.

"You two stay here and take whichever of the two Drokanian boys advances furthest into the tournament, assuming they make the semifinals, back to base on my behalf," Vegeta ordered. "If they don't make it that far, then just take whoever comes in second place in the final. I have my eye on those two kids though. Their fighting style is different from anyone in Frieza's army, and the difference alone will likely help me win a point."

Nappa and Raditz both nodded. "What about you?" Nappa asked.

"I'm going to Drokania to purge the planet. Part of the orders, remember, purge the planet of the new recruit," Vegeta reminded them, purposely keeping to himself that he was going to confront Ajox there in a fight to the death. It gave him plausible deniability to have a real reason to be on that planet, just in case. The less his fellow Saiyans knew about all of that business, the better – then Zarbon wouldn't be able to beat it out of them.

"What do we do with the other Drokanian brother then, the one we don't pick? Want us to kill him?" Nappa pressed.

Vegeta shook his head. "Jhainer will take the other brother," he knowingly said, before pausing at the thought.

_Actually…_

"You know what, on second thought…yes, kill the brother that isn't chosen," Vegeta ordered, his tone cold as he thought it through. "My recruit needs to be prepared for life and death battle, and if Jhainer gets the other brother, neither will have the stomach for it. We'll neutralize the situation by killing the boy that doesn't go as far in the tournament."

"And if they _both_ go far?"

"Flip a coin, I don't care. They're about evenly matched. Now go back and take care of it. I'll meet you two and the boy back at base."

Without another word, Vegeta blasted off into the air, taking off in the direction of their space pods. Nappa and Raditz watched him leave, then exchanged a knowing look between them. They weren't stupid – they had seen Vegeta stroll up to Manzin, and had seen the almost visceral hatred that Manzin was wearing afterwards. The fight with Ajox was about to go down, but they also knew it was better that they didn't know the details.

"Alright then big man, let's go back and see about these Drokanian boys then," Raditz finally said, before he started to head back towards the child fighters who had no idea the hell their lives were about to become. Nappa frowned and stared off after Vegeta for a moment longer, before mentally sending the prince a message for good luck.

If he was going to fight Ajox, he was going to need it.

* * *

The only time he ever got to experience real peace and quiet was right after a purge.

Vegeta sat alone later that night, his silver armor covered in blood. He was the only one alive on Planet Drokania. The teenager's eyes were closed as he breathed in deeply, while he sat crosslegged with his arms folded across his chest in the middle of a city that was burned to the ground. The smell after a purge was as intimate to the young prince as his own scent – the blood, fire, smoke from the explosions, and burning flesh on the corpses. It calmed him and soothed his nerves, clearing his head, easing his eternal rage. He was particularly fond of completing a purge by himself for the calm that followed once the blood-curling screaming stopped. With the complete and utter silence aside from the remnant fires on the planet from his purge that were still burning, he didn't have to pretend to be anything. He didn't have to bow to anyone, kneel before anyone, or be humiliated in front of anyone. He didn't have to swallow his rage because he could just _unleash it_ , like he had just done on the unsuspecting planet of Drokania, punished because they had the audacity to produce two extremely talented fighters. Alas, such was life.

As he meditated in the aftermath, his thoughts unwillingly started turning towards Felsin and his offer. It wasn't that he objected over the idea of a resistance movement. He just knew it wouldn't be enough. Others had tried over the years and failed. Frieza always caught wind, _always,_ and anyone involved was mercilessly executed. Vegeta also knew that in time, he could become strong enough to defeat Frieza, but for now, he had to remain on the winning side. It was the only way he could survive long enough to avenge his people. And unfortunately, the winning side right now was Frieza's side.

Vegeta slowly opened his eyes, looking up to see a space pod flying into the atmosphere. He watched and waited. His scouter was disengaged and abandoned in his own space pod to avoid any eavesdropping. Win or lose, live or die, whatever happened next would never be part of any record.

Finally, he saw Ajox flying in the distance, heading straight towards him. The prince smirked, before he slowly and painfully made his way up to his feet, right as Ajox dropped down in front of him.

"So you showed up after all," Vegeta mockingly said, his smirk growing. He confidently crossed his arms over his chest. "And here I thought you were having second thoughts."

"I could say the same about you," Ajox sneered, crossing his arms over his chest. He had the same type of tough orange skin that covered Manzin, only his was a lighter shade. He also had a nasty scar that ran down the side of his face. He was a hardened warrior, one of Frieza's best, and they both knew it. Ajox shook his head in disbelief. "You are truly stupid, Saiyan, to think you can beat me one on one."

"I don't think I can, I _know_ I can," Vegeta smugly replied.

"Well then, since you're so eager to die, I don't want to deny your death any longer," Ajox growled, shifting into his fight stance.

The young prince chuckled, shifting into his own. He clenched his rear fist tight, white fire surrounding it immediately.

"Your move," he taunted.

Vegeta was immediately on his heels as Ajox launched a ferocious frontal attack, forcing the Saiyan back as he scrambled to put up a defense. The prince blasted up into the air to gain leverage, and then he fired a white ball of energy up into the night sky. Ajox caught up with him a heartbeat later, buying his knee into Vegeta's stomach. The prince doubled over in pain, but Ajox instantly grabbed him roughly by the hair, pulling him back up with one hand, his hand curling into a fist with the other hand ready to smash into the Saiyan's face.

Ajox hesitated though when Vegeta just laughed, despite his mouth being filled with blood, "I already won."

Ajox looked at the teenager in his grasp warily, wondering if he really was mad, when Vegeta reached up with one hand towards the white ball of energy still soaring into the sky.

The prince clenched his fist, and the light exploded.


	8. No Rest for the Wicked

Nappa frowned, arms folded over his armor as he watched Vegeta who was submerged in a regeneration tank. The prince had been tight-lipped upon his return to base, only asking his fellow Saiyans if they had successfully retrieved one of the Drokanian boys from the tournament. Once that was confirmed, his only other question was whether the regeneration tanks were finally up and running. Once _that_ was confirmed, Vegeta's sole interest had been getting in one, and he hadn't said another word to Nappa or Raditz. They were both curious as to what, if anything, had transpired with Manzin's older brother. However, they knew better than to get in Vegeta's way when the young prince was dead set on something. This was particularly true with how roughed up the prince looked, barely able to walk now. So they had merely followed him along in silence, suppressing the curiosity for the time being in favor of ensuring Vegeta made it all the way to the medical room before collapsing.

The door to the room hissed open as Raditz walked in. He observed Vegeta for a couple of seconds, but the prince was unconscious, bubbles shooting out of his mask every few seconds with his breathing. Raditz came to stand next to Nappa, offering the Saiyan a large green fruit that was old, bruised, and starting to mold.

"The food supply Frieza promised has arrived now, finally," Raditz said, trying unsuccessfully to hide his relief.

Although the sex slaves and the alcohol were always available to Frieza's men, food was brought in an unpredictable fashion. Sometimes it would take days, sometimes weeks before they had food on base, something which did not bother Frieza who did not require the nourishment. To him, hunger was just one way to keep his men under his control. As the tyrant had explained to the Saiyans shortly upon their arrival into his ranks years ago, experiencing hunger strengthened their willpower, making them tougher against potential torture should they be captured by enemies. In addition, hunger also provided motivation to complete his assignments with vigor, as leaving the planet provided the chance to get something to eat. Of course, there were a handful of species under Frieza's rule that were unaffected by the inconsistent food supply – unfortunately, the Saiyans were not among them, cursed with a particularly strong appetite that had never once been satiated during all the years serving Frieza.

Nonetheless, Frieza had said during the last "all hands" meeting with his army in the Cold Gathering Chamber that he would be providing enough food for all of them every day. Nothing like Cooler's men scoring above his own to motivate a change in approach, after all. It remained to be seen if the trend would last – history indicated it would not. For now though, the Saiyans would definitely not be complaining.

Nappa scowled but snatched the fruit from Raditz. He quickly devoured all of it, unfazed that part of it was rancid – he had developed a titanium stomach while working for Frieza. Eating now was just to give his body some fuel; taste and freshness were luxuries they had lost many years ago. Raditz pulled out another piece of fruit that was similar in state, chewing on it most slowly than Nappa had. He looked back at Vegeta.

"No record on Ajox's movements," Raditz commented. "Zarbon is starting to ask around if anyone knows where he is. He specifically wants to talk to Vegeta once he's out of here."

Nappa grunted, roughly wiping his lips with the back of his forearm before crossing his arms again. "He should be healed momentarily."

Raditz frowned as he took another bite, before mentally asking, _Do you really think Vegeta killed him?_

_He likely transformed into the Oozaru state. If he did, Ajox didn't stand a chance._

_True, but if anyone finds out, he's dead._

_Vegeta recruited the kid, and purged his planet as ordered,_ Nappa sent with a shrug. _I think he's smart enough to have covered his tracks._

Raditz took another bite of his fruit, uncaring of the rancid taste. A frown came over his face while he studied Vegeta, who was clad only in a pair of loose white shorts in the tank.

"This kid needs to eat more so he can grow," he commented almost distantly as he chewed.

"You're welcome to tell Frieza that yourself," Nappa grumbled, though he didn't disagree. Saiyan men tended to be tall, their growth spurt surging during the late teenage years. He himself had only been a child when Vegeta's father was the prince of their people, and yet he remembered him already being tall and muscular by Vegeta's age. Their hard life in Frieza's servitude was clearly impacting the prince's physical growth, but it hadn't stopped his strength from increasing. Indeed, despite the teenager being below average in height for a Saiyan male, and despite being lean to the point where he was almost lanky, Vegeta had already surpassed him, Raditz, and even his own father in strength. He was strong, and strength was the only thing that mattered now.

Vegeta scowled and took a deep breath then, making the scouters Nappa and Raditz were wearing blink to life. The two older Saiyans stepped back instinctively, just before the blue light of Vegeta's ki filled the room.

A moment later, and the glass shattered to pieces, the fluid covering the room. Raditz snorted as Vegeta quickly yanked off his mask and stepped out of the tank. The teenager looked tense as he quickly scanned himself over his chest, his hands, and then his feet. He clenched his fists, feeling renewed strength flowing through him. All was well again, and he slowly exhaled in relief.

"You keep breaking these tanks, when you already know that Zarbon is going to thrash you for it," Raditz said, shaking his head.

Vegeta's dark eyes shot up to Raditz, who swallowed and struggled to keep the eye contact. The kid was certainly developing quite the intense stare. Raditz braced himself for some type of lashing out, but he didn't get it as the young prince simply turned around, scanning the room for his gear.

"Zarbon can go to hell," Vegeta ground out through his teeth. The truth that he would never confide in Nappa and Raditz was that he was still shaken from the use of the regeneration tanks for other _purposes._ Upon waking in one, he had briefly forgotten that he himself had sought it out – he just needed to get out of it as soon as possible. In his brief, rare moment of panic, it had slipped his mind that Zarbon always made him pay each time he destroyed one of the tanks, but he would endure whatever punishment was in store, just like he always did.

Nappa and Raditz exchanged a look. Vegeta already had some scars on his back from the constant, violent thrashings at the hands of Zarbon. The stubborn young prince certainly didn't make his own life easier though, preferring to be rebellious instead of patient, punishment be damned. It made his Saiyan comrades frustrated because they knew it would only end in pain for Vegeta; but damn if they didn't respect the kid for it.

"He wants to see you," Nappa advised him as Vegeta quickly put his uniform on. "They're asking around about Ajox. He hasn't reported to his next assignment, and his space pod and scouter are both off the grid."

The prince grunted, scowling as he picked up the vial Felsin had given him, subtly so his comrades didn't notice. "What's that got to do with me?" he demanded in a neutral voice, tugging his silver armor set over his head and securing the vial inside.

"Just giving you the message," Raditz snorted.

"Where's the Drokanian boy?" Vegeta asked, slipping on a red scouter and activating it.

"In our quarters. He's terrified, but he isn't going anywhere."

"What time is training today?"

"When Frieza is done with his business," Nappa informed him. Vegeta looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. "He is running the rank qualifying squad today in Dodoria's place."

The prince turned away from them, the features in his face tense as he wrapped his tail around his waist. It wasn't unusual for Frieza, from time to time, to take personal control of the competitions to earn rank. Vegeta suspected it was done out of morbid curiosity; it was _his_ army, after all, and he was likely interested to see who was going to be his newest ranked man. Still, whatever Frieza's personal reasons, Vegeta knew he would have to brace himself mentally. He took a deep breath, steadying his nerves. But there was no rest for the wicked, and so he nodded with acceptance.

"Get the boy some gear from the equipment room," Vegeta ordered gruffly, putting on his white gloves, stretching the material tighter than necessary. He quickly tugged on his boots, thankful his foot was finally healed. "I'll see to him soon and… _re-introduce_ myself," he added with a smirk. "For now though, I'll go see Zarbon."

The prince didn't wait for an answer from his comrades before he abruptly left the room, walked through the adjacent medical room, and stepped out into the main corridor. He instinctively scanned his surroundings, before heading off to find Zarbon.

Vegeta was heading down the corridor that led to Zarbon's business quarters, when the door hissed open before he got there, Manzin walking through. The prince stopped at the sight of him, before he smirked triumphantly at the look of murderous hatred he got from the older boy. They both stared each other down for a few moments, but Manzin then kept walking, fists clenched, and so did Vegeta as the prince entered Zarbon's quarters. The lieutenant was too close for the boys to even exchange a word over what happened, lest he discover the truth. Still, it was enough for Vegeta that Manzin knew he was responsible for his brother's death. With his Oozaru form trump card, it hadn't even been a fair fight – a fact that he was looking forward to throwing in Manzin's face as soon as he could.

"Vegeta," Zarbon greeted in a cold voice as the prince walked in. The teenager came to stand in front of the lieutenant, the look of triumph gone as he kept his face neutral.

"You summoned me," he said, bowing his head a little. Zarbon smoothly crossed his arms in front of his armor, his eyes suspicious.

"I wanted to ask you about Ajox, and if you knew anything about his disappearance."

"Who?"

Zarbon narrowed his eyes angrily. "You know damn well who I'm talking about, boy. Don't try my patience. Ajox was Manzin's older brother."

Vegeta just casually shrugged, looking indifferent. "I think I saw him the first day of the competitions for the rank qualifying squad, cheering on his idiot brother."

Zarbon glared at the teenager in front of him. Vegeta easily met his stare, keeping himself disciplined and his face controlled as Zarbon studied him for signs of a lie.

"Well, Manzin just informed me that his brother committed suicide and as such, is now dead," Zarbon informed the prince, his eyes still intensely scrutinizing Vegeta for a reaction.

The only reaction he got was Vegeta shrugging again, as though he didn't have a care. It wasn't far from the truth – why care about a dead man, after all? "Seems you have your answer then," he casually said. "Is that all you needed from me?"

"One of you is lying," Zarbon angrily concluded, continuing his scrutiny of Vegeta, trying to read him to no avail. He got closer to him, his posture threatening. "Or maybe both of you are. Do you take me for a fool, monkey prince? You think I don't know that you and Manzin both happened to cut your scouters' communication links at the same time, and then shortly afterwards, Ajox goes off the grid, and now he is gone? Supposedly took his own life? Rest assured, I will find out the truth of what happened. A rank 3 man does not die without answers. And if I find out you had a hand in this, Vegeta, you will pay _dearly._ "

"Is that _all_ you needed from me, Zarbon?" Vegeta repeated, unfazed.

"Where is your recruit?" Zarbon demanded.

"In my quarters. Shall I retrieve him?"

"Not yet. Bring him with you when you meet with Lord Frieza tonight. You and the other 3 will report to him at 203X. You'll need a new black cape from the equipment room."

Vegeta nodded. "And when exactly do I report to you for the thrashing you promised before I left on the recruiting mission?" he asked casually, hoping he could get something to eat beforehand. He was ravenous.

"Your punishments have been cleared." This time Vegeta couldn't keep the surprise off his face, making Zarbon snort. "Don't look at me. Lord Frieza's orders. He wants you in prime condition when you meet with him, and said he would look past your rebelliousness this time," Zarbon informed him with incredible bitterness. It was not the first time Frieza had overridden his promised punishments to the young Saiyan prince – the benefits of favoritism. Only a handful of others in the army were afforded such a luxury. It was a shame. Zarbon had been looking forward to beating the life out of Vegeta upon his arrival back to base, especially with Ajox's disappearance, but it was not to be this time.

Vegeta's nose twitched at the news. While Zarbon only saw it on the surface level, Vegeta knew better. He knew that Frieza only wiped the slate clean with him when he had other plans in mind. Whatever it was, he was sure by the end of it, he would find himself wishing for one of Zarbon's beatings instead.

And with Frieza running the rank qualifying squad that night, Vegeta had a thought that he would learn what the tyrant had in mind soon enough.

"Now, you have a session with Frieza tonight. Tomorrow morning, you have training with Dodoria at 070X. After that is completed, you will report to me. I have another mission for the four of you off planet, another challenge. This time, you will be on Planet Pilaz. You will receive more information tomorrow. Dismissed."

Vegeta bowed his head, then spun on his heel and quickly strode out of there. His heart was pounding in his chest though at Zarbon's departing words. _Pilaz_ – that was the planet where Felsin was from. Was it mere coincidence that he had just been recruited as part of an underground resistant movement against Frieza on his last assignment, and now his next off planet mission was on Felsin's home planet? He didn't know, but he suddenly felt sick to his stomach, anxiety crawling through him.

 _He knows,_ Vegeta suddenly thought, his face paling. _Frieza knows. That's why he's taken charge tonight, and why he has cleared me of all punishment. He'll kill me tonight, then have the others purge Pilaz tomorrow._

He quickly got back to his personal quarters, putting his hand on the sensor to gain access. He needed time alone to think. The prince strode in when the door hissed open, grateful that Nappa and Raditz weren't there. However, the room was not empty.

For the time being, Vegeta forgot about his concern regarding Frieza when his dark eyes settled on the small, silver Drokanian boy sitting against the wall. His dark rags gone now, he was wearing the traditional uniform of Frieza's Galactic Army, complete with a blue scouter, adapted for his lack of ears.

The boy refused to look up as Vegeta came to stand directly in front of him. The prince folded his arms over his chest, scowling as he studied his personal recruit.

"So which brother are you?" he demanded. He was met with silence. It was impossible to read the boy's face, what with those all-black eyes and lack of other features. Still, the body language was radiating simmering anger. Vegeta growled. "I won't ask you again, boy."

The boy looked up then, and telepathically answered, his voice strong. _My name is Adriel._

"So your brother Raum is dead?" Vegeta asked nonchalantly.

 _Yes, by your orders,_ came the hate-filled response.

Vegeta stood silent for a moment, before slowly squatting down so he was eye level with Adriel. He communicated telepathically so no one could eavesdrop on their scouters.

_Well, Adriel. There is no use in lamenting your fallen brother. He is dead; and if you don't want to join him, you will let go of your foolish attachment to him, your family, and your whole race. They are all gone, and are never coming back. You are my personal recruit now, and I will teach you enough so that you can defeat 3 other new recruits in life or death battle. Then you will be a soldier in Frieza's Galactic Army. Accept your new reality, listen to me, learn from me, and you may live through this yet._

Adriel absorbed the information, staying quiet, even as his black eyes shined with tears. _You didn't kill them all. We did interspace travel heavily in my galaxy. There are survivors out there, fellow Drokanians, I am sure of it. They will come for me._

Vegeta smirked, unconcerned. The boy before him was the strongest Drokania had to offer, along with his now deceased brother. No survivors were going to give him any kind of trouble.

 _Well, they are most welcome to try. Then they will die too, if they even make it that far,_ Vegeta mentally sent with a snicker.

 _You are just like Frieza, and I hope you die with him one day,_ Adriel furiously sent him.

Vegeta's smirk faltered at that, genuine surprise on his face for a moment. It was quickly replaced with his own fury. The boy wishing him dead was understandable, and honestly a compliment. It was the comparison with the tyrant that was making the fur on Vegeta's tail bristle.

 _I am nothing like him, you piece of shit Drokanian,_ the prince heatedly sent back through their telepathic link. _So shut up about things you don't understand._

 _We know the legend of Frieza, and the cruelty of his men. You have done what he is famous for. You took me from my family, you killed them, then you destroyed my people. And now, I don't serve Frieza. I serve_ you.

The urge to seize the boy and beat him bloody was overwhelming; it made Vegeta's jaw ache from hard it was clenched as he resisted the urge. To compare _him_ with Frieza was the most asinine and offensive thing Vegeta had ever heard. But the boy needed to remain unscathed physically, so he could be prepared to train and fight. More than that though, he was aware that beating the child senseless would not help his argument that he was nothing like Frieza.

Vegeta's glare was ice cold. _If you want to survive, you have to adapt. Adapting means following orders. All of us have to do it. You are no exception…and neither am I. What I did to you, your family, and your planet was just me following orders. I had no choice. It doesn't make me the same as him._

_There is always a choice._

_Not if you want to live._

_Then you're just a coward._

This time, Vegeta couldn't help his violent reaction. He roughly grabbed the boy by the armor as he stood quickly, hauling the boy up with him. Just as quickly as Adriel was yanked up, he crashed back to the floor hard after receiving a brutal punch to his face from Vegeta that nearly knocked him unconscious and shattered his scouter. The tears were back in his black eyes as he whimpered, in deep pain that wasn't physical in nature. The boy slowly curled up into a fetal position on the floor facing away from Vegeta, white tears streaming from his black eyes as he silently cried while he hugged his knees to his chest.

Vegeta was tempted to kick the kid for being so weak, but he was momentarily struck by the boy's current reaction and position. It was very, _very_ close to how he himself had reacted a decade prior when he had finally been alone after learning of his father's death as well as the elimination of his entire race, minus Nappa and Raditz. A hint of emotion he couldn't name threatened to rear up in his chest, but out of years of practice, Vegeta channeled it into rage, one of the few emotions he fully understood.

 _You think you're the only one who has lost anyone? Grow the fuck up, kid – EVERYONE here has lost someone. You are nothing special, and your race was nothing special either. Now you can listen to me and fight, or you can die. Either way, your life is only worth one point to me in a competition to earn my rank. And there will be other competitions, so if you don't give me my point, someone else will. That is how little your life means to me. It's your_ choice _how to proceed from here._

The prince hovered menacingly over the boy, fists clenched at his sides as though daring Adriel to respond. There was only silence now though, the link between them closed. Adriel curled up more into himself as the prince sneered down at him in anger and disgust. The Drokanian was a stupid child, but he would learn, just as he himself had years ago. Vegeta was contemplating taking the little runt outside to give him a proper fighting lesson, and to toughen him up, when Jhainer suddenly appeared in the room, startling him.

"I _hate_ teleporters," Vegeta nastily informed the older teenager. He had honed his senses well over the years to detect anyone getting close to him, but there was no defense against someone literally appearing out of thin air.

The young Trikan soldier just smirked, before he looked down at the boy curled up on the floor. He nodded in recognition. "Ah, so you did get one of them. I noticed that his brother was killed before anyone was able to recruit him. Funny how that happened," he softly pointed out.

"True, what are the odds?" Vegeta snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked down at the boy in disapproval. "Though if I'd known this kid was so mentally weak, I would have taken his brother. At least _that_ kid had some fortitude about him."

"Well, we have several hours before we must report to Frieza." Jhainer turned to the Saiyan next to him, signaling up to his blue scouter as he added, "Perhaps we can visit the tavern in the meantime. What do you say, Saiyan? I believe Nappa and Raditz are already there."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow in suspicion, knowing that Jhainer really wanted to get him alone and without scouters. He scowled, before looking down again at Adriel again.

"I shall send for you later, boy, so I can give you a proper introduction to Frieza. Be prepared, because if you act like this in front of him, you won't survive the night," Vegeta warned him.

He frowned and looked over as Jhainer came up next to him. The young Trikan put a heavy hand on Vegeta's shoulder, and then they both vanished.

The next thing Vegeta knew, he was standing back in the south end of the planet, where they had started their competition. He looked around, but seeing that they were completely alone, he reached up to deactivate his scouter as Jhainer did the same. The Saiyan breathed out slowly, his breath visible in the frigid night air, his tail tightening around him. His last experience there hadn't been pleasant to say the least, and he certainly had not missed this bitter cold.

"What is it?" he demanded, turning his full attention to Jhainer. The older boy turned his back to Vegeta, facing the black abyss of water stretching behind them. Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest, more in an effort to stay warm. He was mildly impressed Jhainer had managed such a far teleportation. It seemed he had been practicing. "Well?" Vegeta impatiently prompted when Jhainer remained quiet. "Not all of us are adapted to this damn cold, Trikan," he sneered.

"Do you wonder why Lord Frieza is running the squad today?" Jhainer softly asked, his tail slowly waving behind him.

A chill went through Vegeta at his earlier paranoia of thinking Frieza knew about his conversation with Felsin. He rubbed his arms, snorting and forcing his voice to sound disinterested. "Does it matter?" he gruffly demanded.

Jhainer hesitated momentarily, before he turned sideways to look back at the Saiyan teenager behind him. "I know what you did, Vegeta."

The prince stiffened at that. He lowered his arms, squaring up now, distrust in his face. "What are you on about, Trikan?"

Jhainer smirked, exposing his silver canines. "Don't play the fool with me, Saiyan. I saw you leaving the room with the Pilazian, Felsin. He recruited you to the resistance, didn't he?" Vegeta couldn't help the look of shock on his face, making Jhainer's smirk spread. "Yes, I thought so."

Vegeta's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he studied the older teenager. "You were recruited too," he said after a moment of scrutiny. At those words, Jhainer looked away, his smirk vanishing as he stared back down at the black water with his dead eye. Realization dawned on the prince behind him, the cold night feeling even colder as he breathed out, "You actually agreed."

"Why didn't you?" Jhainer asked quietly.

"You have been here as long as I have, Jhainer. It's a fool's mission. There is no beating him, you know that," Vegeta said with a frown, though he lacked the conviction in his voice he had shown against Felsin. He was still working through his own surprise, trying to digest that the teenaged Trikan soldier in front of him - who he had known longer than even his own parents - had actually agreed to such lunacy.

Jhainer gave an indifferent shrug, before looking up at the night sky, searching for his home planet that he hadn't visited in over a decade. "It is worth a try, for a chance to escape this," he softly commented.

"It's treason. You're a dead man, Jhainer."

"Aren't we all?" Jhainer challenged. He turned back to face Vegeta fully, studying him intensely. "The longer we are here, working for him, the more we are going to become monsters like him. Is that what you want?"

Vegeta's glare was hard, his fists clenched tightly. Adriel's words rang in his head, which made him grit his teeth. "I can have you killed for this, Trikan," he snarled. "One less person in my way to getting my rank."

"And I can have you killed for what you did to Ajox," Jhainer evenly responded, making Vegeta's eyes darken. "You are not the only one Frieza favors, Saiyan. But why destroy each other when we can work together? The resistance is a formidable size. It will take time, yes. Maybe even years to build up the necessary resources and strength. But what else do we have, Vegeta, if not time?"

Vegeta flinched when Jhainer came up to him and put a hand on his shoulder again. "Felsin and his allies have arranged through political channels for our next mission to be to Planet Pilaz. They will ask you again, and it will be your last chance to join, Vegeta. They cannot risk another meeting without raising suspicion."

Vegeta knocked Jhainer's hand off him, sneering as he did. "Tell them to save their breath, Trikan. And as far as you and I go, our alliance is over. Pray that I don't betray you tonight to Frieza so that he can kill you once and for all."

Jhainer's blue tail rose up behind him as he took in a deep breath, his blank white eye studying Vegeta. The prince easily maintained the stare, but he was tense, prepared for a fight. Finally, Jhainer just smirked.

"You won't."

The young prince growled low in his throat, "And just what makes you think that?"

"Because you want us to succeed," Jhainer calmly asserted, drawing a look from Vegeta that was a mixture of rage and something else the Trikan soldier couldn't read. "But if you insist, then do it. Tell Frieza, have me killed. What the hell difference does it make? I'll get my rank, or I won't, or I'll die. This life is empty. Maybe you haven't gotten to that point yet, Vegeta, where you realize I'm right. But you will. And when you do, come find me."

He then vanished into thin air, leaving Vegeta alone in the cold.


	9. Strength of Will

**A/N: A huge and hearty thank you to everyone for the support and feedback, it is always appreciated! And to anon Artiwritter – since I can't reply on the site, I'll reply here and say that no, it's not coincidence. There are some parallels to be sure, though Jhainer is his own character. ;)**

**This chapter is a little violent, FYI.**

* * *

Vegeta's fingers were drumming against his bicep later that night in anxiety as he waited in the hallway outside Frieza's quarters. He was standing, arms crossed and leaning back against the wall, scowling as he glared down at the Drokanian boy who was seated across from him. Adriel kept his gaze down; he had refused to look at Vegeta since their tense exchange earlier, practically radiating hatred towards him. The prince didn't care about that though. The kid was listening to him now, and that was all that mattered.

Not for the first time, Vegeta glanced back down the hallway, wondering where Manzin, Jhainer, and Cui were. He had thought they were all going to meet with Frieza that night, and yet the other members of the rank qualifying squad had yet to arrive. His fingers started drumming faster as he glanced back over towards the metallic door leading to his most hated place in existence, his mind drifting back to the conversation with Jhainer only a couple of hours ago.

 _This life is empty,_ Jhainer had said. Vegeta's arms tightened over his chest as his scowl worsened, even as his right leg started unconsciously bouncing. Revenge for the Saiyan race rested solely on his shoulders; it was his responsibility, duty, and burden to destroy Frieza as the present and last-ever Saiyan prince. It could fall to no other Saiyan. Yet, while he wanted nothing more than for it to be _him_ to destroy Frieza, he also knew it would take him years, maybe a decade or two, to become strong enough. As such, he did not entirely hate the idea of someone sparing him years of misery - sparing him an empty life.

Jhainer was right in that Vegeta wanted for it all to end – he desperately yearned to be free from Frieza's brutal regime, to live on his own terms, to be his own man and not take orders again for the rest of his life. There were many alien races out there who wanted revenge against Frieza, and if one was so strong to stand to the tyrant now, Vegeta would gladly stand to the side.

The problem was that he had seen this happen before. Frieza's reign as tyrant over the universe did not happen without opposition and resistance movements popping up from time to time after all. Frieza was ruthless and always crushed rebellion, not allowing any movement to gain enough momentum to pose a real threat. Vegeta had seen nothing that would guarantee that this wouldn't end in the same way.

 _Unless I help them,_ he thought to himself idly, before blinking at his own treasonous train of thought. His dark eyes immediately settled on Adriel, but if the telepathic boy heard his thoughts, he wasn't showing it. Vegeta absently raised a hand to massage his forehead, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to calm down; his heart was pounding and he was starting to sweat. Sanity demanded that he forget about all of it – Felsin, Jhainer's offer, every part of it. It was the only way he could stay alive.

Vegeta pushed himself off the wall when the metallic door slid open and Zarbon strode out. The young prince turned to face him, squaring his shoulders instinctively as Adriel nervously got up to his feet as well. The Drokanian boy faced Zarbon as well, but he kept slightly behind Vegeta, as though the Saiyan offered some kind of protection. Vegeta was morbidly amused by that, although he figured that the boy had decided it was best to stick with the devil he knew – even if the devil Adriel knew had single-handedly annihilated his whole race…

Zarbon looked over Adriel in curiosity, before his sight settled on the Saiyan prince. "Lord Frieza wants you alone, Vegeta."

Vegeta nodded and walked in, trying to keep his body in check as the metallic door slid closed behind him. His heart was pounding hard again though, fresh sweat breaking out on the back of his neck. Frieza was standing before a glass pane overlooking the space dock, hands clasped behind his back, tail waving lazily behind him. Vegeta went to stand at the usual point of attention, before lowering to one knee.

"Lord Frieza, you summoned me," he mechanically said, resting his forearm on his knee as he lowered his head and forced himself to stay calm and neutral, despite the anxiety flooding through him.

"I did," Frieza agreed, turning his head slightly to the side. "Do you know what tomorrow is, Vegeta?"

The prince frowned, trying to think, but he was drawing a blank. "I do not," he finally admitted.

Frieza turned, looking at him with a mixture of surprise and pity. "My dear prince, have you lost all track of time? Tomorrow you become another year older by the Cold calendar, for it is the anniversary of your birth. Don't tell me you have forgotten?"

Vegeta scowled, looking up through his bangs. "The calendar has not been my priority of late."

"Mmm, yes, you have been quite busy indeed, haven't you, Vegeta? I do not blame you for forgetting. It isn't as though your monkey parents are alive to remind you, after all," Frieza chuckled, snapping his fingers. His levitating seat came over to him, and Frieza comfortably took a seat as he levitated over so he was facing Vegeta. The Saiyan had his gaze back down on the floor, his jaw clenched tight.

"Well, I have a full agenda tomorrow, and so do you – you have training with Dodoria, and then a mission on Planet Pilaz that I've assigned you. But before tomorrow comes, and before you reach another year of age, young prince…I must ask you a question. I _strongly_ suggest you answer me truthfully."

Frieza paused, letting a tense silence settle between them. Vegeta kept his eyes trained on the floor in front of him, the floor that was showing him the outline of Frieza's shadow.

"Yes, Lord Frieza, what do you wish to know?" Vegeta finally asked, his voice gruff and indifferent, even as cold sweat ran down his lower back under his uniform.

"Look at me, boy," Frieza ordered. Vegeta instantly raised his head, making eye contact with the tyrant in front of him. "One of my rank 3 men has vanished, Manzin's brother. I will only ask you this once, Vegeta. Did you have something to do with Ajox's disappearance?"

"No, my lord," Vegeta responded resolutely. Frieza stared at him, eyes narrowed and scrutinizing him. The prince forced his breathing to stay normal as he matched the stare.

Frieza then smiled. He snapped his fingers twice this time, and a slave entered in a hurry, giving the tyrant a glass of wine before running off again. Vegeta swallowed, observing Frieza as the tyrant breathed in the aroma of the beverage.

"Well, I had to ask, my pet. We are looking into the matter and you and several others are…persons of interest in his disappearance. We will find out the truth of it, one way or another. But enough business talk – tomorrow is a day of celebration for you! How will you celebrate?"

Vegeta took a deep breath, eyeing Frieza with cold hatred even as he kept his voice respectful, "Doing your bidding as per usual. I have my orders."

Frieza took a sip of his wine glass as he nodded. "Mmm, yes… _my bidding_. I will confide something in you, Vegeta, as you are like a son to me. Running the universe is a tremendous responsibility in my family. But sometimes, it can be rather…dull. Monotonous. Sometimes, I derive entertainment by paying closer attention to the bidding of my men…like you," he said with a sinister smile. "I know what you have been up to, Vegeta."

Vegeta visibly paled as his mouth ran dry. _He knows about the conversations with Felsin and Jhainer._ He tried to speak, but he couldn't find the words. Frieza's smile spread as he chuckled while Vegeta finally stammered, "My lord, I – I am not sure what you are – what you are referring to."

"Why deny it? I have confided in you, and now you won't confide in me, Vegeta? Why, I am like your father now. My dear monkey prince – admit it. That is an _order_."

Vegeta's face was covered in sweat now. His heart was pounding so hard he felt like he was going to have a heart attack, as the prince unknowingly teetered on the brink of a real panic attack. "I – I wasn't – I was approached, yes, but I – I swear I wasn't going to –"

Frieza threw his head back as he laughed maniacally. "Oh of _course_ you were, Vegeta. You are a young male adolescent, and your growth hasn't finished. It is only natural that you have these needs, as your race was quite primal - brute animals really. Simple creatures. You cannot help it. It's in your blood."

Vegeta swallowed heavily as his eyebrows drew together in confusion. "My lord?"

"Your interest in my lovely hybrid Legan slave, obviously. The beautiful Aradeen."

"…Aradeen," Vegeta repeated, feeling weak as a wave of relief washed over him. He felt like his ears were ringing.

"Admit it. She has caught your interest, hasn't she?"

Vegeta looked down, taking a deep breath through his nose, forcing himself to calm down. He had come close to death with just one slip of his tongue, but it seemed that the tyrant did not know about his recruitment into the resistance movement. The young prince took a moment, feeling shaken but keeping his voice steady and strong when he finally answered.

"She has, my lord. She is a rare beauty."

"Indeed, she is. I have heard that she is causing quite a stir among the men at my Ozo Tavern. Oh, to be driven by sexual desire, like nothing more than an animal," he sighed, lifting his glass of wine for another sip. "My superior race has evolved past such primitive needs like hunger, sleep, and sex. But your kind hasn't, and as such, I find it prudent to remind you of the rules now that you are coming of age, dear prince. You may do as you wish, with whoever you wish, Vegeta – but should you ever sire a child, remember that you must give it to me if it's male, or destroy it if it's female."

Vegeta grit his teeth for a few seconds, his hands clenching into fists. He kept his eyes on the floor. "I am aware of the rules. I have no interest in ever fathering any children."

"Ah well that is a shame. I'd love to increase my collection of monkey pets!" Frieza laughed. He leaned forward, studying the boy kneeling before him. "Though, truthfully, Vegeta, it is wiser that way. A true warrior has no attachments, nothing to make him weak. It is the only path to real strength and power. After all, nothing makes a man weaker than family. You agree, don't you?"

He didn't have to lie this time, his thoughts briefly going towards his parents. His features hardened. "Yes, I agree," he answered, his tone detached.

"Good. Now then, it's time for business," Frieza announced, reaching up to his scouter.

Vegeta glanced over at the door as it slid open. Zarbon led the way, coming to stand at Frieza's right side. Following after him were Manzin, Jhainer, and Cui, each with a recruit right on his heels. Adriel brought up the rear. Vegeta found it interesting how the boy had no real features, and yet how he could still read his fear. Adriel scanned the room, and then quickly made his way to Vegeta, mimicking his position by kneeling down next to him on his left. Everyone else likewise took a knee as they made up a neat row before Frieza and Zarbon.

Vegeta and Jhainer briefly made eye contact that was loaded with questions and answers – Jhainer knew just by looking at him that Vegeta hadn't said anything about their conversation. Vegeta also knew by the look on Jhainer's face that the older boy wouldn't give away what he knew about Ajox. Of the two, Jhainer broke their eye contact first, looking down and away.

"Well look at this new blood!" Frieza laughed in delight. He twirled his wine glass as he studied the youngsters in front of him, before beckoning with his hand. "Recruits, step forward. Let me take a good look at all of you."

Vegeta watched as the four young recruits stood up and stepped forward. He scowled when he realized Adriel was the shortest of them all. Cui's recruit was a stocky alien with wild orange hair and a large curved blade for a left arm. Manzin's recruit was a reptilian beast with four muscular arms, a boy that rivaled Nappa in size. Finally, Jhainer's recruit was a young humanoid, with pale skin and white hair, and striking red eyes. Every few seconds, a flicker of fire went up the boy's right arm.

"What are their power levels?" Frieza asked.

"They are all very evenly matched, with power levels between 2,300 and 2,500," Zarbon answered. They are all between 10 and 12 solar cycles by the Cold calendar."

"Ah, the future is bright!" Frieza said laughing maniacally. He lowered his glass, and then stood up from his seat, extending his arms in warm welcome as he smiled.

"My young children, please allow me to introduce myself. I am Lord Frieza, ruler over this Galactic Army and over 43 different galaxies, and a leader in the Planetary Trade Organization. Welcome to my base planet, Planet Frieza #21. You are each privileged to have the opportunity to join the most elite military force across all the galaxies in existence. In 10 days, we will have a tournament, where the four of you will fight to the death," Frieza announced with a cunning grin.

The tyrant clasped his hands behind his back as he slowly examined each of them, coming uncomfortably close to them, one at a time. The young recruits all fearfully avoided his eye contact – none of them were there by their own free will, and they knew that the tyrant was the real reason why. Frieza finally paused in front of Adriel, the youngest and smallest, and smiled at him. Adriel was shaking in fear, his eyes on the floor.

"Only one of you will survive. Then we will see which of you deserves entry into my Galactic Army," Frieza told them with a smirk. "The winner will grant their recruiter a point in their quest to earn rank. Now I admit, I have been known to run a bit of a hard pace here, but it's only because I know that all of you can be excellent. I expect nothing less. I wish you youngsters the best of luck in the days ahead, and I shall see you all in 10 days. Dismissed."

"Follow me," Zarbon announced, making his way back out the door. "You four will share quarters until the tournament. This way."

Adriel anxiously glanced back at Vegeta, but the prince just stared at him with a cold, emotionless look. Vegeta bitterly wondered if the boy would be so quick to draw comparisons again between him and Frieza, now that he had come face to face with the most brutal tyrant the universe had ever known. Somehow, he doubted it. In any case, the boy would only be his concern for 10 days, and not a second longer.

"You all did well with your recruiting mission on Planet Nioren," Frieza praised, surveying his preliminary ranked men who were kneeling before him. "We have confirmed that the home planets for all four recruits were purged, and there was no disruption on Planet Nioren. To thank the four of you for a job well done, I have allowed each of you to heal in a regeneration tank to reach 100 percent, and I have personally relieved Dodoria from duty tonight so that I may run a competition… _personally_ ," he announced, chilling amusement in his eyes as he reached up for his scouter.

The four teenagers all looked up at that, glancing uneasily amongst themselves, before turning their attention to the metallic door that slid open. Vegeta's tail tightened around his waist when he saw Captain Ginyu, Recoome, Jeice, and Burter strolling in.

"Your first competition was a test in fortitude, which Manzin won. In 10 days, we will test your leadership and training ability with your new recruit. Tonight…I will test your strength of will. In many assignments as a ranked man, and in many battles ahead, you will each face extreme pain. What makes the soldiers in my Galactic Army invincible is their ability to take the pain, and keep fighting."

The Ginyu Force lined up in front of each of the teenagers that were kneeling. With Ginyu leading the way and Vegeta having entered first, the prince found himself looking up at Captain Ginyu who smirked down at him. Vegeta swallowed.

"Now then, my elite rank 1 Ginyu Force will help me tonight. The rules tonight are simple. Each time I snap my fingers, the Ginyu Force man across from you will strike once to break bones. This will continue until there is only one man left standing…I will allow for one knee to go down, provided you are standing on both feet before I snap my fingers again. Whoever is standing in the end will win a point." He raised a finger, as though lecturing his own children. "Remember, my dear boys – pain is just in your head. Enduring it is simply a matter of willpower."

Frieza took a seat once again, levitating to a position where he would be able to see everyone equally. He picked up his drink again, a sinister look over in his eyes. It was only then that Vegeta realized why his punishment with Zarbon had been waived; Frieza wanted him at his best before he was broken down again. The tyrant beckoned them with his fingers to stand, and the four teenagers did.

"No scouter, armor, uniform tops, or gloves. We must be able to see the full extent of the injuries," Frieza ordered. His eyes narrowed as they started stripping down. "Move a little _faster_ ," he sneered, as the young soldiers quickly stripped down.

"Well, won't this be fun," Captain Ginyu snickered. "I couldn't have asked to be paired with anyone better."

Vegeta's nose twitched in annoyance, but his anxiety had passed, and he was calm and ready. Knowing that death had passed him on this night, and with Frieza laying out the competition of the evening, his confidence was high. After all, of the four of them, no one took a beating as often as he did, thanks to his general stubbornness and his smart mouth. And he would bet his life that no one had a stronger will to endure more pain than he could. This meant that not only was he going to live through that night, but he was going to even the playing field with Manzin. That, in his books, made for a damn good night, no matter how many of his bones were broken in the process. After all, the rank qualifying squad was always allowed to heal after competitions and training when necessary, which it would be tonight.

The four young soldiers all braced themselves, as the Ginyu Force moved around to stand behind them. Vegeta stared at Frieza, his gaze intense as he felt Captain Ginyu come up behind him.

Frieza raised his glass for a sip, as he raised his other hand.

"One," he announced, snapping his fingers.

Hot pain flared up Vegeta's left arm as the bones in his forearm were shattered, making him grind his teeth as Captain Ginyu came around to face him. The other three teenagers took the same blow in their left arms as well. No one cried out, though someone did hiss in pain, Vegeta wasn't sure who. All four teenagers remained on their feet. Frieza looked on, grinning in approval.

"Two," he continued, snapping again.

Vegeta moved one foot back as if to keep his balance when he felt the blow to his chest, breaking several ribs on his left side. He snorted as the blood ran up his throat, filling his mouth. Cui dropped to one knee from the blow he took from Jeice, and Vegeta knew he wouldn't get back up. He had the least willpower in the group. Like Vegeta, Manzin and Jhainer also briefly staggered. Manzin hacked a little, but the three remained on their feet.

And then there were three.

"Three," Frieza said with a grin, snapping again.

The third blow shattered the collar bone to pieces. Manzin cried out in pain, dropping to both of his knees. Vegeta staggered backwards a couple of steps, doubling over as he gasped in pain, but he somehow managed to stay on his feet. Jhainer clutched at his chest, dropping briefly to one knee. When he saw Frieza raise his hand again a moment later, he shakily forced himself back up, dark blue blood trickling down from his mouth. Manzin's legs were shaky as he barely managed to stand in time.

"Four," Frieza said, eyes bright as he snapped again.

The next blow shattered the sternum of each of them to pieces. Manzin fell flat on his back, groaning as he rolled over and coughed up an alarming amount of blood. Vegeta and Jhainer both cried out and were brought down to their knees, with Vegeta leaning forward until his forehead was on the cool floor as he wrapped his arms around his torso. Jhainer choked and coughed, putting his good arm in front of himself.

"Oh my, are all three of you out already?" Frieza asked with a laugh, taking a sip of his wine in amusement. Manzin made no effort to get up, giving up as he laid shaking on the floor. Vegeta eyed Jhainer who was pushing himself back up, and he immediately forced himself to do the same as Frieza raised his hand again.

Jhainer and Vegeta were both back up on their feet. They exchanged a glance – Vegeta's eyes were filled with anger and resentment as he sneered at his former ally. Jhainer just glared at him, raising his arm shakily to wipe the blood from his mouth. Vegeta cradled his injured arm to his injured ribs, spitting a mouthful of blood to the floor, with more running down his chin. His whole body was shiny with sweat, bruises visibly starting to form. Both teenagers turned back to Frieza in dogged determination that made the tyrant smirk in approval as he raised his hand again.

And then there were two.

"Five," he continued, snapping again.

White light suddenly exploded in Vegeta's vision, a scream of pain that he barely recognized as his own ripping out of him. He must have briefly lost consciousness, because the next thing he knew, he was flat on his stomach, sputtering and choking in his own blood. His ears were ringing, and it took a moment for him to realize that his tail had been broken. He raised his head with bleary eyes, glancing over to Jhainer, who was in a similar position on the floor as him – his tail had also been shattered. The young Trikan was shaking, struggling valiantly to get back up to his knees.

 _Pain is just in your head,_ Vegeta angrily reminded himself, repeating Frieza's words of advice. _Enduring is simply a matter of willpower._

He recognized the irony of clinging to the words of the creature responsible for his current agony, but he was _so close_. Clutching his injured side and struggling to breathe, he pushed himself up to one hand, still on his knees. He was so focused on getting up, that he didn't even register that the Ginyu Force was cheering them on, having placed wagers on who would win the competition that night.

"I got Vegeta for sure, the kid has got real fight in him," Recoome laughed.

"You're all buying me a drink, because the Trikan is getting up," Captain Ginyu said with a grin. He eyed Vegeta smugly. "Sorry boys, but I hit the Saiyan hard enough to keep him down."

That did it. With a rush of anger and a profound willpower to not give up, Vegeta growled and forced himself to dig deep. He got up to one knee, and then pushed himself back up to his feet. He staggered backwards, his tail haphazardly hanging low, but he stayed upright, clenching his good fist as he glared at Ginyu as though asking for more.

Meanwhile, Jhainer made it up to one knee as well. He pushed himself up as best he could, but he wound up falling back on both of his knees, gasping in pain.

And then there was one.

"And we have our winner! Vegeta gets a point!" Frieza practically cackled in delight. Recoome and Jeice high-fived and cheered, then started doing a dance in celebration. Burter groaned as Captain Ginyu crossed his arms, staring at Vegeta in mild annoyance as the prince dropped back down to his knees in relief.

"Ah, now that was entertaining," Frieza chuckled. "Ginyu, you and your men are dismissed. Thank you for a lovely time, as always. Come see me tomorrow morning, as I have another assignment for you, and bring Guldo too."

Vegeta shakily shifted over so he was sitting on the floor, curling into himself a little as he watched the Ginyu Force practically strut out. His breathing was wet and ragged, the taste of blood rich in his throat, but he couldn't help his brief smile despite it all. Winning something that proved his toughness and will power to himself, his fellow competitors, and to Frieza himself was deeply satisfying.

Frieza stood then, clasping his hands behind his back as he observed the four young soldiers before him, who were all struggling to breathe. His gaze was cold, hard, and uncompromising as he studied their injuries one at a time. Finally, Frieza's hard gaze shifted to Cui, who was sitting and cradling his broken ribs with his bad arm. Cui fearfully leaned back a little, swallowing. He was shaking, but Vegeta wasn't sure if it was from pain or fear.

"Cui, seeing as how you are the most worthless one in this room, I want you to clean up these quarters for me while I go have a virtual meeting with my family to discuss business matters. There is so much blood, goodness, what a mess," Frieza sighed, looking at the blood around him in disapproval. "I want my floors so clean they _shine_ before I return. Then you can go into a regeneration tank. As for the rest of you, you can go now to the tanks. Remember that you are to report to Dodoria tomorrow morning for training, and I have an off planet mission for you all afterwards. Dismissed."

Manzin wasted no time. Now having recovered some of his strength, and angry that he couldn't do it when it really mattered, he forced himself up and stumbled his way out of the room. Cui also begrudgingly forced himself up, shuffling out after Manzin to make his way to the equipment room where there were some cleaning supplies.

Vegeta and Jhainer remained sitting on the floor, neither able to stand just yet. Frieza watched the other two teenagers leave, and then he turned to leave as well for his routine call in with his family to discuss the latest dealings in the Planetary Trade Organization. He paused though, and then turned back to look at the Saiyan prince who was brushing the blood from his mouth with his good arm.

"Actually, for you, Vegeta, there will be no regeneration tank tonight," Frieza informed him casually. Vegeta instantly looked up at him in dismay, his face losing color.

"But-" he started, before lowering his head and hacking more blood. Oh, speaking was brutally painful. But he could literally feel the broken bones shifting in his chest with every breath, and he knew he needed to get himself into a tank soon or things would get very ugly, very fast. Vegeta took a wet and shaky breath, and then could only stammer out, "But…I need…"

"No, boy, let me tell you what _I_ need. I need you to stop breaking my regeneration tanks, especially when I just upgraded the models for the benefit of you all. Honestly!" Frieza sighed in exasperation. "The only way for you to learn, monkey prince, is if I teach you discipline. You can get into a tank tomorrow after your training, assuming your Saiyan genes keep you going until then…" he paused and surveyed the boy who was glaring back at him with fierce hatred in his dark eyes. Frieza threw his head back and laughed at the look. "Now now, my precious monkey pet, don't be _upset_. This will make you stronger in the end. Oh and please do enjoy your day tomorrow. It is special, after all."

Frieza chuckled and then left the room casually, tail easily waving behind him, leaving Jhainer and Vegeta alone. The two boys looked over at each other. Jhainer studied the Saiyan teenager, his expression emotionless, while Vegeta's burned with raw hatred. The prince was shaking, and though Jhainer couldn't sense ki or power levels, he could practically feel Vegeta's simmering rage.

After a moment of silence, Jhainer spoke.

"You won tonight, Vegeta, but tell me. Is it worth it?" Jhainer asked, his soft voice hoarse and raspy with his own injuries.

Vegeta broke their eye contact as he angrily looked away. His injuries were making him weaker and dizzier by the second, yet his life meant little to nothing to Frieza. He said nothing for a time, though he was quite suddenly overwhelmed by the goddamned unfairness of it all. If he had the strength, he would have screamed, destroyed something, killed someone – anything to get rid of his boiling over frustration. He looked down at his torso which was already displaying dark blue bruises, his whole body shaking as he raised one hand to his chest. He gently pressed with two fingers, and hissed with pain.

The only way through for him now was to take the vial that Felsin had offered, which he had wisely left in his quarters before reporting to Frieza. Vegeta didn't know if the vial would kill him or help him. Regardless, one solid blow in training tomorrow morning would likely kill him, so he had no choice.

He looked back at Jhainer, his dark eyes steely through the bangs hanging over his face. The Trikan was unsteadily making his way back up to his feet. It took him some moments, and he was uneasy on his feet, but he was finally standing.

Some seconds later, he was standing in front of Vegeta, extending his hand down to him with his good arm. The prince glared at it, then raised his eyes to meet Jhainer's. He knew that Jhainer was offering more than just an assist so he could stand. Without words, the Trikan soldier was asking him once again if he was going to join the movement. He was offering him a way out.

Vegeta hesitated for several seconds. He briefly thought of his own father, and the pain in his chest sharpened. Finally, he nodded once. He then reached up and grasped Jhainer's hand, their bloodied hands sealing an agreement that would mean certain death if they failed.


	10. For the Battles to Come

The next day, Vegeta was seated in a back corner of the Ozo Tavern, elbow propped on the table, his gloved hand loosely resting on his mouth. Nighttime was the busiest time for the tavern, but it was early afternoon and the place wasn't exactly deserted. The orders hadn't come in yet for the day, and so several soldiers were milling about, killing time until they were sent on their next assignments.

Vegeta was no different, though his day had already been busy. He had chugged the contents of the vial that Felsin had given him after the brutal "strength of will" competition the night before, unsure if it would heal him or kill him - though he numbly found that he didn't much care either way. Luck was on his side though, and though the pain lingered, the broken bones had mended. It had given him enough strength to get through the morning training session with Dodoria and his fellow competitors – another "pain tolerance" lesson that had left him with fresh, painful burns along his back that he could still feel under his uniform even now, hours later.

Nonetheless, he had survived as per usual, and he had other things on his mind. So when Dodoria had finally dismissed them from training, telling them to report back later for orders on their next off-planet mission, Vegeta had bypassed the opportunity to get healed and had come to the tavern to meet with his fellow Saiyans. Nappa and Raditz were flanking him now, each with a drink in hand that was untouched. The three Saiyans sat in silence, conversing only using their telepathy. The conversation at hand was far too dangerous to risk voicing even a word of it out loud.

 _It's risky, Vegeta,_ Nappa finally commented after Vegeta had finished. The three were sharing a telepathic link with each other, allowing the prince to tell them both at the same time about his recruitment into the resistance.

Vegeta just grunted, raising his drink to chug more of it down. He was sweating and already mildly intoxicated, but he didn't much mind – it brought the pain of his burns and bruises from last night's session and today's training down to more tolerable levels. Raditz tapped one finger rhythmically on his own drink, his eyebrows drawn together. He looked around, as though someone would manage to overhear their telepathic conversation.

 _It feels like a mistake that's going to get us killed,_ Raditz nervously said. Vegeta wasn't sure if his comrade's fear was from the idea itself, or from voicing opposition to a decision he had made. He usually did not tolerate dissent from either of his fellow Saiyans, but this was different. He had unilaterally made a decision that could see them both killed along with him, and he at least owed them a conversation in return.

The prince took another drink. He raised his hand and signaled Aradeen to bring more, though he purposely avoided looking at her while he did so.

 _It's my decision,_ Vegeta finally sent to both of them, his voice filled with authority. _I may indeed be killed for it, but you are both to deny any knowledge of this, even under torture…even if it means my death. That is an order, understood? We cannot allow the Saiyan race to vanish if this plan fails._

 _Kakarot is still alive,_ Raditz reminded him. Vegeta rolled his eyes, then sighed.

 _He is undoubtedly a weakling, but yes, if he has survived this long then I suppose we wouldn't all vanish,_ Vegeta relented.

 _Do you trust that this is going to work, Vegeta?_ Nappa asked anxiously.

_I'll find out more during my next assignment. In the meantime, you both are to stay here and train Adriel while I am away._

_I thought the whole point was for you to train the runt,_ Raditz mentally grumbled, earning a death glare from the young prince. Raditz quickly amended, _I'm just saying that I'm not sure if Dodoria will allow us._

_Well, do what you can with the boy. Even if you can't physically train him, then mentally prepare him for life or death battle. Look out for him and make sure he is not injured beforehand. I imagine I should be back before he fights the other recruits, so I will take it from there._

_So you are still interested in earning your rank, even while helping the resistance?_ Nappa asked.

_I don't know what their plan is, or how long it will take. Hell, there is no guarantee it will even work. I have to keep looking out for myself in the meantime. We stay the course for now. Nothing changes until I say so._

There was silence as Aradeen approached with fresh drinks for them. Vegeta kept his gaze down on the table, even as Raditz and Nappa relaxed upon her arrival. Nappa laughed over something as they made brief small talk, but Vegeta tuned them out. He snatched the new drink Aradeen offered him without a word or a look, and quickly brought it up to have a drink. When he lowered the drink, it was with a sigh that had him feeling like he was five times his age as he ran one hand up his hair. These were dangerous games they were playing, and even the alcohol couldn't ease his anxiety.

"Not interested in fucking the girl anymore, Vegeta?" Raditz asked curiously, before betraying a slight grin. If they were risking death soon with these dangerous plans, he may as well try to get laid before he got killed. "Because if you aren't, I might be. She's growing on me."

"Are you capable of seeing a woman without wanting to fuck her, Raditz? I'm surprised your dick hasn't fallen off with some disease," Nappa shot at him.

Vegeta snorted, and despite himself, he came dangerously close to an amused smile.

Raditz smirked, finally taking a drink of his own. "Now now bald man, don't be upset that women prefer me over you. It's all in the hair, they can never resist it."

"Heh, what woman would want your jungle hair?" Nappa mumbled.

Raditz rolled his eyes, looking back towards their prince. "So, what do you say, Vegeta?"

"You can't have her, Raditz," Vegeta said, no room for argument.

"She's still yours then?"

"Technically, she is Manzin's."

"That didn't stop you before."

Vegeta frowned, finally sneaking a look at the woman in question who was cleaning down some spilled drinks as some rowdy soldiers came close to a fight. He raised his drink again, pausing in thought when it was at his lips. Frieza's words were still on his mind; the tyrant knew of his interest in the slave girl, and had already threatened him with what should happen should he sire a child. It was unwise to pursue her further, with Frieza knowing about it. He knew this.

Still, his mind was saying one thing, and his hormones were saying something else. Saiyan men were red blooded warriors, and even if his interest was tempered for now, he knew himself well enough to know it would not be forever. Manzin was bad enough; the thought of Raditz touching her was enough for him to want to kill the older Saiyan.

If anyone was going to have her, it was going to be him - in his own time.

"How do you do it?" Vegeta finally asked. Nappa and Raditz both laughed at the question, making him frown.

Raditz was grinning as he began, "Well, you get yourself good and hard, and then get her naked, then you gotta find where to put it because it varies species to species-"

Vegeta cut Raditz off with a hard punch to the face, sending him crashing to the floor, his wooden chair crashing with him. Nappa laughed as Vegeta snarled down at Raditz.

"I know how that works, idiot!" Vegeta hissed, his face red. "I'm talking about the _other_ thing!"

"What other thing?" Nappa asked curiously.

Vegeta growled and angrily mumbled something about them both being complete morons, before he opened up their telepathic link again.

 _How do you avoid siring children if you're constantly with women?_ the young prince demanded. Nappa and Raditz both gave a chorus of "ohhh's" of understanding as Raditz took his seat again, cradling his face. He would have a bruise, but fortunately, Vegeta hadn't broken anything in his face this time.

 _Well, the easiest way is don't let Frieza find out if you do sire one,_ Nappa said, making Vegeta's brow furrow. _Half these fools here have half-breeds they've sired on other planets, they just keep it quiet and never go back to those planets._

 _Another easy way is just have your fun before you work on a purge,_ Raditz offered, shrugging as he raised his drink. He chugged most of it down before sighing in satisfaction. _Then she won't live long enough for you to worry about it._

Vegeta said nothing to that, preferring to raise his drink instead as he scowled. At the uncomfortable look on his face, Raditz chuckled and added- _Your hand is always a good option too. Nappa knows. It's the only thing he ever gets._

This time Raditz sprang to his feet and avoided the punch from Nappa, laughing out loud as he did. Vegeta smirked, before he glanced over at Aradeen again. A second later, and she made eye contact with him. She held his gaze for a few seconds, and he was intrigued by the mix of emotions his stare evoked before she broke their eye contact. He wondered if she was attracted to him as well, but he wasn't quite sure how to tell. He could tell she was afraid of him, but she also seemed…wary? Confused? For the first time in his life, he wished he had more experience reading emotions.

"Wait!" Nappa finally cried out, his eyes widening. "Isn't it your name day, Vegeta?"

"Supposedly," Vegeta grumbled, downing the rest of his drink.

Nappa and Raditz exchanged a look between them, and then they both stood up. Vegeta raised an eyebrow; with them standing and him sitting, they both towered over him.

 _Come on then, we have to do the ritual,_ Nappa informed him, his mental voice serious. He was specifically using his telepathy so that no one could overhear and interrupt. Raditz nodded his agreement.

 _What ritual?_ Vegeta asked, bewildered.

_You are 18 years of age now – you are now old enough that you could have challenged your father for the right to the Saiyan throne. We must do the ritual to mark your coming of age._

Vegeta blinked. He then scoffed and shook his head, his mental response coming out bitter.

_Who cares? I'm literally waiting for my fucking orders to go off planet on another mission for Frieza. My father is long dead. There is no point to any of this shit._

_We care. We are still Saiyan. It's our rite of passage into manhood. It's our culture,_ Nappa informed him, and Vegeta thought he heard some annoyance in his voice. _And it's all we have left, Vegeta._

 _You're still our prince, aren't you?_ Raditz mentally asked, trying not to sound angry but failing. Going through this with Bardock was the last memory he had with his father before he was sent into Frieza's service, and it annoyed him that Vegeta was being so dismissive of it now. _Every Saiyan male goes through the ritual, the prince is no exception._

 _Especially with the things you are planning…how dangerous things could get…you need this. Get up and come with us,_ Nappa added in the voice he used when commanding the Saiyan army, so long ago.

Vegeta looked up at both of them, his stare hard. Both Nappa and Raditz were braced for retribution – Nappa in particular. He had suffered at Vegeta's hands for far less, and he had now given him a direct order, which the prince never took well. They both waited, the silence hard and cold.

"I must be more intoxicated than I thought," Vegeta finally muttered. Nappa and Raditz shot each other a hopeful look as the prince sighed in defeat. "Fine. Let's get on with it then. But let that be the first and last time you both talk to me like that, or you'll be in the tanks for days," he angrily warned them.

Moments later, after flying back in a tense silence, the Saiyans were in the only place they could expect somewhat reasonable privacy – their own private quarters. It wasn't much, but it would do.

Vegeta had tossed aside his scouter, and then stripped down to just his boots and his pants as he knelt on both knees on the floor. His back burned more now with the removal of his uniform, but he could not deny his culture and still call himself the prince of his people – even if his kingdom was a kingdom of four Saiyans, one who didn't even know he existed. That mattered little. He was the prince all the same.

 _Usually, it is the boy's father who does this, with his blood,_ Nappa explained. He stood in front of Vegeta, with Raditz standing next to him, arms crossed over his armor. _Every Saiyan boy goes through this when he turns 18 years of age. When it's the prince in particular, it was usually accompanied by a large feast, followed by fighting that lasted all night. We can't give you that, but we can still ensure you are seen as a man by our people in the afterlife. We'll skip the part that required you to hunt and kill a large wild animal to prove yourself a capable hunter – we already know that you can hunt. Now, give me your hand. Your blood is your father's, so we will use yours in his place._

Vegeta hesitated for several long seconds, making Nappa and Raditz think he was going to end it before it even began. Finally though, the prince begrudgingly extended his hand to Nappa. Vegeta frowned but otherwise did not react as the larger Saiyan used his ki to slice into his palm, producing fresh warm blood.

 _Prince Vegeta of Vegetasei, we call upon your ancestors, that they may grant you knowledge and wisdom for the battles to come._ Nappa's words were now in their native language as he smeared blood on Vegeta's forehead. Vegeta's scouter beeped then, the screen lighting up, but the Saiyans ignored it.

 _May they grant you the strength to defeat your enemies, on and off the battlefield, so you may make your ancestors proud._ He smeared blood over Vegeta's knuckles on both hands.

 _May they grant you the bravery to always fight with honor and pride, and the determination to never give up, until your dying breath. When the god of death does finally come for you, may you face him with courage, honesty, and a warrior's spirit._ Nappa smeared some of the blood on Vegeta's chest, right over his heart.

 _Strength and honor above all,_ Nappa said.

 _Strength and honor above all,_ Raditz repeated.

They both stared at the teenager kneeling before them expectantly. Raditz nodded to him, gesturing for him to repeat the words as well.

 _Strength and honor above all,_ Vegeta finally repeated in his native language.

_You knelt as a boy, now rise as a man, Prince Vegeta._

Vegeta stood up, to both Nappa and Raditz patting him on his shoulders in approval. They were both grinning from ear-to-ear, and though he looked indifferent, Vegeta couldn't hide his relaxed posture from them. This was nothing but a mere fraction of what he would have gotten had his home been intact, but it still filled him with a deep satisfaction.

This was one thing that Frieza would never be able to take from him.

* * *

"Where have you been, monkey boy? I've been paging you on your scouter," Dodoria peevishly said.

Vegeta crossed his arms over his silver armor as he lined up next to Jhainer, his black cape waving behind him. "Well I'm here now," he replied with boredom.

"Well, you already know I would schedule you for a thrashing for being late – however, Lord Frieza wants no excess punishment for you today. He says it's a gift for you since today is special, for some reason," Dodoria bitterly informed the prince. Vegeta's favoritism with Frieza was no secret, but Dodoria had made up for it with a brutal lesson in pain tolerance earlier that day during the squad's morning training. If Vegeta had noticed that Dodoria was harder on him than he was on Cui, Manzin, and Jhainer (despite Jhainer also being favored), he had wisely not commented on it.

Vegeta and Jhainer both stayed silent as Dodoria turned away from them, taking a warm drink while he pulled up a digital screen.

"Manzin and Cui are being sent on a dual assignment to complete a purge of a rather large planet. You two are also being sent on a dual assignment, but it will be separate from them. Your task is a diplomatic one on Planet Pilaz."

The planet blinked to life on the screen before them, a large red planet with rings that spiraled around it from top to bottom. Vegeta and Jhainer exchanged a look between them; Vegeta raised a questioning eyebrow which Jhainer returned with a small smirk before Dodoria turned back to them.

"The Pilazians have been enslaved by a sorcerer king named Kynton and his legion of men. You two are to eliminate this sorcerer king, and free the Pilazians from his tyranny. He is running interference on their technology; as such, you will not be able to use your scouters on the planet, so keep your eyes open and remember your training so you can stay alive."

Vegeta smirked. "Why, Dodoria, I never knew you cared."

"Don't push it, Saiyan, or I'll make your next training session with me even more miserable," Dodoria growled, raising his drink again as Vegeta's smirk vanished. Jhainer rolled his good eye, shaking his head while Dodoria continued. "We are investing training and time into both of you, so while we wouldn't miss you, it would be a poor return on our investment for either of you to die while on an assignment. Now in exchange for your work against Kynton, Planet Pilaz will pledge its allegiance to Lord Frieza's Galactic Empire - so don't fuck this up. This is a normal assignment outside of the competitions, which will resume upon your return. You have five days, including travel. Dismissed."

Jhainer and Vegeta both turned away without another word, walking together in silence in the direction of their space pods. Vegeta relayed the mission telepathically to Nappa and Raditz, reminding them again to step in with Adriel in his absence, if they were allowed. They both responded wishing him luck.

"I've seen Manzin training with his invisibility cloak," Jhainer whispered to Vegeta as they approached the dock. "He's still gunning for you. Best you keep one eye open, Saiyan."

"Tch," Vegeta scoffed. "Let him do his worst."

"He will, since you won't see him coming."

"Worry about the mission ahead, Trikan. Manzin will be on another planet soon enough," Vegeta said, even as he reached up to his scouter. He cycled through and tried to pinpoint Manzin, but when he couldn't pick him or Cui out, he figured they must have already departed for their own mission.

He and Jhainer walked on in silence again, the space pods coming into view as they came onto the dock. The prince scowled. "A sorcerer king, Dodoria said. I wonder what he can do," Vegeta muttered under his breath. "Do you think he can fight?"

"We will find out soon enough. If he has the whole planet under his control though, best we don't underestimate him."

Vegeta grunted as the two teenagers separated, each going to their space pod. They each took a few moments to run some diagnostics and ensure their space pods were in good condition, before Jhainer called out to him.

"Who is primary?"

"I am," Vegeta immediately answered, climbing into his space pod and taking his seat. He hit the latch, then leaned back as it closed. Crossing his arms over his chest, he growled out the order. "Set destination to Planet Pilaz, secondary is Jhainer."

" _Destination set to: Pilaz, Galaxy #68 in the west sector. Landing coordinates will now be synchronized with secondary space pod. Awaiting verbal command from Jhainer, soldier rank preliminary, to finish synchronizing…"_

" _Verbal confirmation received, landing coordinates synchronized. Awaiting verbal command from Vegeta, soldier rank preliminary, to launch."_

"Launch then, damn thing," Vegeta growled in annoyance.

The rush of acceleration slammed into him, forcing him back into his seat. Vegeta closed his eyes, surveying his physical state. It was not great – he was aching and his burns still felt hot on his back – but it wasn't as bad as his last assignment where he had recruited Adriel.

Of course, he had Felsin's vial to thank for that. The night had been painful enough even with his healed bones; he wasn't sure how he would have managed without any medical aid. Resentment burned in his chest as he remembered Frieza denying him the right to heal, something that was granted to _everyone_ who endured the competitions to earn rank. Those were brutal enough, without Frieza making it even harder on him.

He took off his scouter, putting it into a compartment in the space pod. It seemed he would not be needing it on this next assignment. He frowned as he thought about Planet Pilaz. He surely hoped this was not the base for the resistance movement against Frieza – the planet being enslaved by a sorcerer king did not exactly inspire confidence.

Regardless, all he could do now was wait. Leaning back, he closed his eyes, finally allowing himself to relax. His exhaustion easily overwhelmed him, as it normally did when he was in flight.

The young prince was soon in a deep sleep, dreaming of the ritual he had undergone earlier that day, with his father in Nappa's place.

* * *

It was hours later when Vegeta was jolted awake by the computer speaking.

" _Incoming transmission from destination planet. Receive or decline transmission?"_

The prince sat up in surprise, and then looked out of the portal window, putting one hand on the cold glass. He could see Planet Pilaz in front of him, along with the large, bright colored rings that encircled the enormous red planet.

"Receive," he gruffly ordered, retrieving his scouter and seeing if he could get a signal to Jhainer. He cursed when he saw what Dodoria had warned him of – the signal was jammed. He scowled and turned it back off, putting it back.

A voice suddenly came in over the communication system in the space pod.

"Unknown space vehicle, identify yourself at once and state the purpose for your visit," the female voice ordered.

Vegeta reached up and manually declined the rest of the transmission.

"Computer, initiate a direct communications link with secondary space pod," he ordered.

" _Initiating…"_ Some long seconds passed as Vegeta began to sweat, before the computer spoke again, with its usual cold voice. _"Unable to establish link with secondary space pod belonging to Jhainer, soldier-"_

"I know his fucking rank," Vegeta snarled impatiently. "Receive external transmission from destination planet."

The female voice came in again, sounding as impatient as he was. "Unknown space vehicle, identify yourself at once, or you will be destroyed."

 _Shit._ Dying in his space pod was not how he wanted to go out. Vegeta took a breath, and then responded, "We wish to make landing on Planet Pilaz. We come in peace."

"I will only ask one last time. IDENTIFY yourself, and state your PURPOSE, or you WILL be destroyed before you land."

"We come from Planet Nioren, with business purposes," Vegeta smoothly lied, remembering that Felsin had told him the planets conducted business often. "We have new technology to demonstrate that we think may entice the leaders on your planet."

There was silence for a moment, before the voice responded. "King Kynton has granted permission for you to land on Pilaz. Emissaries will greet you upon landing."

Vegeta scowled. Emissaries meeting him upon landing was never good. He hoped Jhainer would follow his lead upon their landing, or they were going to be forced into action sooner than he had hoped. It was always better for him to see just what he was dealing with upfront before a fight, especially if words like _sorcerer_ were being thrown around. Brute strength was one thing. Magic was quite another. Not insurmountable, but annoyingly resilient from his limited experience with planets that yielded it.

He raised his hand up as a blinding light came through his portal window, followed by red and white flashing by as the space pod accelerated into the atmosphere of Pilaz. It lasted for less than a minute, before his space pod landed.

Vegeta looked out, but it was dark from what he could see. He opened the latch to his space pod, and then climbed out, finding himself in a crater. This wasn't unusual – but the uncomfortable thickness in the cold air was. The prince looked up and could see a stretch of blue and white light that looked crystallized through the dark purple sky. It took him a moment to realize that he was seeing the rings that enveloped the planet. Had he been on a trip of leisure, he might have marveled at the sight.

As it was, he instead turned his attention to his surroundings. He couldn't see Jhainer from the crater he was in, and so he started levitating out so he could see more.

As soon as he did, he felt a blue light surrounding him that was completely out of his control.

"What the-" he started, panicking when he felt himself being pulled out of the crater through the air against his will, seemingly by the light.

He flailed against the control he was under, trying to raise his ki, to no avail. As soon as he was out and floating above the crater, he could see that Jhainer was also trapped in a blue glow as he hovered over his own crater. The Trikan soldier was valiantly trying to break free, but it seemed whoever was in control was stronger than them both.

Vegeta and Jhainer both cried out in surprise when they were rapidly yanked forward and then pulled down to the ground, close together, on their knees. At once, soldiers dressed in black uniforms complete with black helmets emerged from the darkness and surrounded the two, aiming weapons right at them. Vegeta couldn't move a muscle, trapped in the blue light that was manipulating and controlling every move he made. The light was obscuring his vision, making it hard for him to see anything with clarity.

"Your lie was amusing," a male voice chuckled, a mere silhouette in the shadows past the blue light surrounding both Vegeta and Jhainer. "But we know Frieza's space pods, and your uniforms leave no doubt that you work for him."

"We know Felsin," Jhainer instantly said, earning a look of disapproval from Vegeta. The prince somehow doubted that this group of "emissaries" was related to the alien that had tried to recruit him into the resistance.

"Oh? Well, we will find out the truth of it."

The male beckoned with a finger, and then one of the soldiers stepped up in front of Vegeta. The prince's eyes widened as the rifle was raised and pointed at his head.

Panicked, Vegeta sputtered, "Wait-"

Jhainer could only watch as a red beam fired from the rifle. The beam struck Vegeta, and then red light enveloped him, replacing the paralyzing blue light that had previously surrounded him. The Trikan watched with wide eyes, wondering if they had walked into some kind of trap when he saw Vegeta's skin, hair, and eyes all turn different shades of red. He was mildly relieved when it looked like Vegeta hadn't been killed, but the prince had a blank expression on his face that made Jhainer uneasy.

The man in the shadows beckoned again with a finger, and then Vegeta was forced to levitate up and forward until he came face to face with him. Jhainer squinted, but he still couldn't make out the man.

"Now then, the truth," the man ordered. Vegeta still had a blank look on his face. Jhainer tried again to stand, but he couldn't move. "You will tell me the truth now, won't you, boy?"

"Yes," Vegeta mechanically answered without blinking.

"Who do you work for?"

"Frieza."

"Why did you come here?"

"Jhainer and I were sent here on an assignment to destroy King Kynton and free the Pilazians from his rule."

"Why was this order given?"

"The Pilazians have sworn allegiance to Frieza if we eliminate the threat to their planet."

"Vegeta! Would you snap out of it?" Jhainer shouted, as he struggled more. The answers were too direct, and it only now occurred to him that whatever they had shot Vegeta with had him under some kind of mind control that was forcing him to tell the uninhibited and brutal truth. Jhainer's tail lashed against the ground in his frustration, the only part of his body he still had some control over.

Jhainer was ignored, as the man continued an onslaught of questions.

"What was your intention when you came here?"

"My intention was to fulfill the mission."

"What was your _real_ intention?"

"My real intention was to find Felsin."

"Why?"

"Because I have decided to join his resistance movement."

"Why?"

"Because I want to see Frieza dead, and I want my freedom."

"Are you here as a spy for Frieza?"

"No."

"Does he know of your real intentions?"

"No."

"Does he know of the resistance?"

"Not that I know of."

"Do you have plans to betray us?"

"No."

There was a moment of heavy silence. Finally, the man seemed to nod. The light vanished from around Vegeta, as the prince promptly collapsed on the ground while the soldiers lowered their weapons. The light surrounding Jhainer vanished as well, and he found that he could move. The Trikan immediately shot up to his feet, his teeth bared angrily.

"Calm yourself, young Trikan," the man laughed. "We already vetted you before your arrival. It was the Saiyan we had to ensure was not a spy. I am sure you both understand. The risk is too great with what we are doing, so we must be very careful who we allow within the resistance."

Vegeta was practically writhing on the ground, his chest in fierce pain, his face covered in sweat. Jhainer noted with some relief that at least he had gained his normal color again.

"What the hell did you do to me?" the prince growled.

"We have a weapon that forces the truth out of you, whether you want to give it or not. It will hurt for a moment, but it will pass soon. You will live, Saiyan."

"Who are you?" Jhainer asked incredulously.

"I am Kynton," the man replied, and though Jhainer couldn't see him, he could practically hear a smile. "I am indeed a sorcerer king, but I am no threat to this planet. In fact, I am here protecting it. Your assignment was nothing but a political ruse to bring you both here. Political maneuvering to get us inside Frieza's ranks. It's where we found the two of you. The Saiyan, in particular, has been quite the surprise."

"Where is Felsin?" Vegeta demanded, finally getting back up. He was still shaken up by the interrogation he had just received, the one that had him speaking truth without his own consent. He prayed to any gods that were listening that Frieza never get his hands on that kind of…weapon? Magic? He had no clue, but if he died without experiencing that ever again, he would die happy.

Kynton held out his hand in the darkness, and above it, a holographic Felsin materialized.

"Vegeta? Jhainer? I'm happy you both made it. Sorry about the crude meeting for you both upon your landing. I hope you understand that we have to take the utmost precautions with what we are doing here. We had to make sure you were with us."

"We understand," Jhainer answered. Vegeta scowled and remained silent, though now that his pain was subsiding, he supposed he agreed.

"Good. Kynton will teleport you both to our base on the planetary rings. We will make sure both of you boys are fed and well rested tonight. Tomorrow we will show you our plans and get your input on what we can improve. I will see you both soon."

The holographic Felsin vanished. Kynton raised his hand with a chuckle to do the teleportation.

"Welcome to the resistance."


	11. A Prince and a Princess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the support. All feedback is always welcomed, positive or negative! This fic has probably challenged me the most in coming up with several new OCs to flesh out the story and the world here, so it's fun to work on. Thanks again for reading, and as always I hope you like.

There was a flash of bright light as their surroundings vanished with Kynton's teleportation. Vegeta squinted as the light cleared, raising his hand up to his eyes. They were in the midst of a futuristic city, with dark and sleek buildings that curved and stretched so tall Vegeta could not see the end of them as they vanished into the dark purple sky above them. There were yellow lights that flickered up the buildings like fire, though after a moment, Vegeta realized they were digital displays overlaid on the buildings that adapted every few seconds, providing information in a language he couldn't understand. Darting through the buildings overhead were air vehicles with blue lights underneath them, littering the sky with rapid movement; some moved so fast they were just streaks of light in the sky, while others moved more leisurely at different altitudes. Different alien species moved about on the ground, and mixed in with them were holographic aliens that would hover over the hands of the locals, as Kynton had summoned Felsin.

"This is Halo City, the heart of Pilaz," Kynton explained from behind the two teenaged soldiers who had been taking in their surroundings. Jhainer and Vegeta both looked back at Kynton, their eyes widening in surprise at the sight of him.

The shadows gone now, they could see the sorcerer king in full – his body was tall and lean, covered in a tough black exoskeleton that was accentuated by lines of pulsing blue light that ran across his entire body. The black exoskeleton went from head to toe, but only covered the right half of Kynton's head. The left half showed a man with ragged red skin, worn like leather, with white hair sticking straight up. His good eye not covered by the exoskeleton was black with a bright lavender pupil. He gripped a silver staff that was nearly as tall as him, with an orange orb at the top. There was a matching simple silver band that settled around his head, with an orange gem in the middle – no doubt, the crown of a king.

"I'm guessing that exoskeleton is due to some damage you took in battle?" Vegeta arrogantly concluded after giving him a once over. He scoffed with disdain. "Not an invincible sorcerer, are you?"

Kynton's gaze shifted over to the young prince, his black lavender eye moving in sync with the digital exoskeleton eye, which had inverted colors. His mismatched eyes looked menacing together, but Vegeta easily held his gaze.

"I was badly burned during a certain battle twenty years ago, yes. The Pilazians helped repair my body with their technology, since I helped defeat an enemy we had in common. We have been working together ever since." He paused, before adding, "And no one is invincible, young prince. Else, we would not be here, now would we?"

"Will you be the one to challenge Frieza then, Kynton?" Jhainer asked curiously, his blue tail waving behind him. "I imagine your new body must be stronger than before. Are you strong enough to defeat him? Is that the plan?"

Kynton smiled; though his actual features on his red skin almost looked warm, the smile that morphed on the exoskeleton side of his face looked chilling.

"We will speak business tomorrow, when we have all our associates gathered. You will have your questions answered at that time. Come now. I will show you both to the palace, where you can rest for this evening."

Kynton tapped his staff on the ground twice, making both young soldiers look down. The ground looked like clear glass that showed their reflections clearly. Upon Kynton's move, the floor under the three of them morphed into a square metal slab, then levitated them all upwards into the sky alongside one of the tall sleek buildings.

"You could have simply teleported us all the way," Vegeta growled in irritation. Despite his words, he stepped to the edge of the slab. They were skyrocketing up into the air at an intense speed, but he was not afraid as he crossed his arms over his chest. He peered over the edge so he could gaze upon the size of the city. It was massive, a city one could easily get lost in for a lifetime. Jhainer curiously came to stand next to him, peering down as well.

"Indeed," Kynton agreed, before smirking. "But I like the scenic route. Besides, this way will help your bodies adapt to the altitude."

"Look," Jhainer quietly whispered to Vegeta, pointing towards the north side of the city. "They are racing down there."

"Illegal racing," Kynton growled behind them, making both teenagers look back at him. "Don't even think about it."

Jhainer and Vegeta passed each other a weighted look, before they both turned hard stares back at Kynton.

"We only take orders from one tyrant, we do not take orders from the likes of you," Vegeta growled back. Jhainer bared his teeth threateningly, silently backing up Vegeta's words.

Kynton took a deep breath to maintain his patience, glaring at both of them. "That side of the city is dangerous, even for two of Frieza's soldiers. If something happens to either of you, you will draw unnecessary attention here that will jeopardize our mission. Steer clear of that part of the city. Also, let me be frank: if we are prepared to challenge Frieza, then the two of you are no threat in comparison. I suggest neither of you test me. Are we clear with each other?"

The two teenagers looked back at each other for a moment. Finally, Jhainer turned back to Kynton and scowled at him as the slab started to slow its ascent. "The air is light here," he stated. Vegeta nodded his agreement. Though Jhainer's voice was neutral and guarded, Kynton saw through to what he was actually saying.

"Yes, the atmosphere is lighter up here as we are on the rings that circulate the entire planet, and now we are going even above that. There is still enough for you both to breathe, but not as much as you are both used to, I am sure. This will help," Kynton said, tossing them each a small cube. "Eat this, and it will recalibrate you to be comfortable here at these altitudes, now and for the rest of your lives."

Vegeta suspiciously eyed the cube in his hand with a scowl. It looked like an ice cube, but it was warm. He looked over at Jhainer who took it with minimal hesitation. Vegeta watched him carefully, but when the Trikan did not die from poison, and in fact released a deep breath of relief, the young prince tossed his into his mouth. The cube immediately evaporated, and Vegeta sighed with relief as comfort returned to his chest. Though he was in no danger previously due to his Saiyan genetics, being rendered more easily short of breath would be a hindrance if he had to fight at this altitude. As a warrior, it was necessary to always be prepared.

Looking down as the slab slowed to a stop, Vegeta could no longer see the city – now there were only soft white and blue light below them. He and Jhainer both turned as Kynton stepped off the slab, which was next to a massive marble expanse that seemed to have no end. Both teenagers immediately followed after Kynton, walking behind him into what looked like some kind of aerial palace. Light pulsed through the blue marble floor in soft and sleek golden hues, and large elegant glass columns stretched further up until they disappeared into the sky. It was open air, and from this altitude, the purple hues of the sky were prominent.

Vegeta was well-traveled through space, but he begrudgingly admitted to himself that this ranked highly in terms of luxury and view. He trailed Jhainer who trailed Kynton, his dark eyes drifting upwards to the magnificent view of the stars as he instinctively searched for where Planet Vegeta would have been. He was unaware that Jhainer just ahead of him was doing the same, instinctively looking for Planet Trika.

"This is the home I have made for myself here," Kynton explained. "I have had a good relationship with the Pilazians for quite some time now. Our planets did business often after defeating our mutual enemy twenty years ago. Now, of course, we have another mutual enemy in our sights."

"Where are you from then?" Jhainer asked.

"It is of no consequence. My planet was destroyed by Frieza fifteen years ago, to prevent any of us from learning enough magic to defeat him one day," Kynton answered. Though the young soldiers walking behind him could not see his face, they could hear the hatred in his voice. "I was king, but I was off-planet with my daughter, so we survived. Though to my knowledge, Frieza is not aware of our survival. Speaking of…"

Kynton stopped walking, then turned to the teenagers behind him as he smiled his half-warm, half-chilling smile. Both young soldiers stopped walking as well, and their gaze settled forward along the newcomer approaching them.

"Jhainer, Vegeta. Please meet my lovely daughter, Princess Kyanna. You will not find another sorcerer in the universe more skilled, nor a princess more beautiful."

The young woman bowed her head in politeness, then straightened again with a guarded smile. Her skin was a smooth, soft red, her long white hair half pulled up behind her head and flowing far down her back, soft as feathers. Her skin was black around the eyes and tailed off at the ends in a pointed way that accentuated her eyes and made them look sharper. Unlike her father, her eyes were white with soft lavender pupils. She was dressed in an elegant robe that was white as snow, a simple but more feminine crown nestled on her head that matched her father's – silver with an orange orb in the middle.

"Pleasure to meet you, Jhainer," she greeted the young Trikan soldier politely. He bowed his head respectfully.

"Likewise, Princess."

Her gaze shifted to the prince standing next to Jhainer, her smile growing curious as she studied him. "And I take it you are Vegeta. I hear you are a prince, is that true?"

Vegeta said nothing as he stared at her. She was not the first princess he had ever met in his travels; oh, he had ruthlessly slaughtered many a royal family before during his purges. But this was no purge, and she was no ordinary princess. He found her to be absolutely gorgeous, with such soft features – the hair, the _eyes –_ his dark eyes drank her in and he found himself momentarily silenced and unable to respond.

Jhainer elbowed him hard in the ribs, making Vegeta blink. His eyes settled on Kynton first, who was scowling pointedly at him, before he looked back at the princess.

"Yes, I am Prince Vegeta of the Saiyans," he replied, his voice proud.

"A real prince. It's not often I have such a pleasure. It is wonderful to meet you, Prince Vegeta," Kyanna said, her tone and eyes slightly mischievous.

"Likewise," he breathed.

"The princess will take you both to eat, then show you to your quarters," Kynton informed them. "Tomorrow, we will meet with Felsin and the others who will help us with the resistance, and go over our strategy."

"Where is Felsin?" Jhainer demanded. "I thought he was meeting us."

"No, he and I still have work to do this evening. Others are still arriving, as you two did. This is why we will discuss in the morning. We have time – we requested through the diplomatic channels that you both be given several days to complete your mission. Have patience." Kynton turned and went over to his daughter, leaning down to touch his forehead against the top of her head. "Take care of our guests, Kyanna. Make sure they are comfortable."

"Of course, Father," she politely replied.

With that, Kynton turned and walked back over in the direction they came, back to the slab still hovering. Jhainer watched him over his shoulder, but Vegeta's dark eyes never strayed from the princess. Kyanna looked back at him and studied him in return, a burning mixture of curiosity and challenge in her lavender eyes. Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest, his tail uncurling from his waist. It flicked behind him with his rising interest as he blatantly let his eyes wander down her body. When he finally looked back up, the mischievous look was back on Kyanna's face as she turned and gave him her back.

"Let us go. I imagine you are both hungry," the princess said, as she began walking away.

"Oh, I am definitely hungry," Vegeta suggestively replied, earning an exasperated look from Jhainer as both soldiers fell into step with each other, following her.

"Would you knock it off, Vegeta?" the Trikan whispered harshly to the Saiyan next to him.

"What?" Vegeta defensively asked. "A man can't be hungry now?"

Jhainer just shook his head, and sighed. He mumbled something about how he didn't know how Nappa and Raditz put up with him as they turned and maneuvered deeper into the palace. They entered another open-aired space, where the marble was now black. The golden light hues still pulsed beneath them, and though there were no walls, this portion they were under had a glass ceiling.

The smell of food finally distracted Vegeta enough to look away from the princess he was ogling from behind. He and Jhainer looked to where the marble ended – there was a levitating white marble slab running along the edge of the palace. On the slab was a massive spread of different food items, and both soldiers practically salivated at the sight.

Kyanna turned, and gestured to the spread. "This is for you both. Please, eat as much as you like, until you have your fill. The servants can bring you more, if this is not enough."

Despite their ravenous hunger, neither soldier moved, both highly suspicious. Vegeta felt like the smell alone was going to kill him from how tempting it was; he could not even remember the last time his stomach was full. Likely he had not had such a luxury since he lived on his home planet. Still, his distrust won in the end as he stood his ground, his dark gaze shifting from the delicious spread to the princess before them. Jhainer also tore his eyes away and looked back at Kyanna, trying to read her true intentions.

The princess laughed at their suspicion. "If we wanted you both dead, we would have just shot down your space vehicles. We have more important things to do than bring you both this far just to kill you here."

Still, they hesitated. Finally, after some moments, Jhainer stepped forward, accepting her explanation. Vegeta scowled as he watched Jhainer approach the food spread and tentatively pick up a round orange fruit. The Trikan bit into it, juice running down his chin.

Kyanna moved behind Vegeta, whispering behind him, "Distrustful, are we, Prince Vegeta?"

"Tch," he scoffed, forcing his tail to wrap again around his waist so it would not be near her. His crossed arms tightened over his chest from her proximity. "Only the weak trust easily."

"So you are not keen to place your trust in us – yet, we are meant to trust you?"

"Your father already interrogated me with his honesty gadget trick. I couldn't help but notice that he did not subject himself to the same treatment. Thus, he knows our intentions, but we do not know his." Vegeta paused, looking over his shoulder at her. "Or yours, for that matter."

Kyanna smiled, and he noticed her face seemed to darken as she did, like she knew something that he did not. "Well, perhaps I have not decided my intentions with you yet, Prince Vegeta," she mused, slowly running one finger down the back of his silver armor, under his black cape.

Vegeta's heart started pounding as he quickly looked ahead again and away from her, eyes widening as he came to the shocking realization that perhaps the princess was actually interested in him too. He had only recently started becoming interested in women, his hormones only igniting that interest over the last half year or so. However, his interest thus far had only ever been met with fear in response, and thus had never actually led to anything. The slave girl Aradeen was the most forward he had ever been with anyone, and that had not gone far at all. The slave girl was something of a side project for him to win over so he could have her willingly submit to him. After all, where was the challenge in forcing her? Still, he had a way to go with her, as she was still deep down afraid of him.

But this was different. This was no slave girl. This was a princess who was also a sorceress, holding powers he could only imagine. A princess who was beautiful, and who seemed – _maybe_ – mutually interested in him, instead of afraid of him. He had never been in such a position; this was further than he had ever gotten. How did a man go about bringing an interested woman to his bed? Would she reject him outright if he made a move? If so, he would undoubtedly have to kill her – but how could he do that, if she was Kynton's daughter?

Drawing a blank on what he was supposed to say or do now, his inexperience left him silent and unable to respond to her words. Vegeta swallowed as Kyanna brought her finger down to his lower back, wishing his armor was not between them so he could feel her touch on his skin.

He exhaled through his nose when Kyanna removed her hand from him.

"You should go on and eat, before Jhainer eats all of it. He still isn't poisoned, so that must mean my intentions are true."

"Hn. We shall see about that," he growled, finally finding his voice.

Before she could touch him again, Vegeta stepped forward until he was next to Jhainer, and then plucked up a bowl containing something that resembled biscuits. The prince brought it up to sniff, and then brought one up for a taste. His stomach growled for more, and then he joined Jhainer in ravaging the food, as they both ate like they had been starved for years – which was not far from the truth.

Kyanna left them, and Vegeta exhaled again when she did as Jhainer turned to give him a disapproving look.

"Don't even try it, Vegeta," he warned through a mouthful of food, earning a scowl from the prince. "She is Kynton's daughter, and she is much stronger than both of us combined."

"Is she?" Vegeta asked curiously. Jhainer shook his head when he realized his words had only made the Saiyan's attraction stronger. "How do you know?"

"Well," Jhainer started, looking over to where Kyanna had left, but the two soldiers were still alone. "Felsin didn't tell me much about the plan, but he said a sorceress would be the one to bring Frieza down."

Vegeta scoffed, tossing a mix of exotic fruit into his mouth in one shot. "You think _that_ woman will be the one to defeat Frieza?"

"Just remember what Kynton said. If they're confident enough to bring Frieza down, then you and I would be no problem to get rid of."

"Speak for yourself, Trikan. I will always be a problem for anyone who wants to kill me."

"Fine, but just keep it in your pants, will you?" Jhainer hissed. "Don't get involved with her or you will complicate everything."

"Who even said I was interested?" Vegeta shot back defensively.

"I lost one eye, not two, thus I am not fully blind, Saiyan. You look at her like you are about to ravage her. That is not what we are here for. Stay focused."

Vegeta growled low from his throat, and then punched Jhainer hard in the shoulder, forcing him to take a step back.

"Watch your mouth, Trikan. I know what I am doing. In any case, you are not my father, so do not lecture me. What I do is none of your concern."

Jhainer bared his teeth, exposing his canines, before he punched Vegeta back in the shoulder, a harder hit than the one he had received.

"Oh?" the young Trikan challenged. "It does not look like it from here. And what you do here on this mission is my concern, because it can jeopardize me too. Don't forget it."

Vegeta snarled, and was less than a heartbeat away from slamming his fist into Jhainer's face and starting an impromptu brawl, with Jhainer ready and braced for it, when Princess Kyanna strolled back in. The young soldiers both straightened and turned to face her, forgetting that they had been on the brink of a fight as she smiled warmly at them both.

"Well, you two made quick work of the food," she commented. Indeed, they had cleared the entire spread. "Are you still hungry? The servants can prepare more, if you like."

"No, thank you, Princess," Jhainer said with a polite bow. "This is more than enough for us."

Kyanna shifted those lavender eyes to Vegeta, and he swallowed at the way she looked at him. "You agree, Prince Vegeta?" she asked innocently.

Truth be told, he was a Saiyan and was thus cursed with a ferocious appetite; he doubted he would ever reach his fill. However, this was far more than he usually had, and he was quite satiated for the time being. Vegeta just nodded his agreement.

"Very well, follow me then, and I'll show you both to your quarters. You will be able to bathe and rest in private, until we call for you in the morning to meet with everyone. Felsin and my father want everyone to be well-rested," Kyanna explained. She tossed some of her long white hair back over her shoulder as she left the room, her movements so soft it seemed like she glided instead of walked as the two soldiers quickly followed after her. "Do either of you have any lingering injuries that need attention? If so, we can also take care of those tonight so you are both back at 100 percent. My father says that men who work for Frieza often have lingering injuries."

Vegeta's burns on his back flared at her words, but he did not react, nor did he respond. Neither did Jhainer, though Vegeta knew that he was nursing similar wounds from the brutal "training" session with Dodoria the morning before their departure from base. However, neither of them was used to complaining or bringing attention to such things, especially when they had both been through much worse.

"We are fine, Princess Kyanna," Jhainer finally responded after a tense silence. "This is more than enough for us."

The princess looked back at them briefly, frowning as she did, but then she went on ahead. Finally, she paused in front of an impressive and intricately carved white marble door. She gestured with her hand, and it slid open.

"Young Trikan, this is for you. You have a personal bath and a feather bed infused with a space compound that will give you the ultimate luxury. If you are in need of _entertainment_ , please ring the bell next to the bed. If you are in need of food, drink, or something is wrong with the room, please press the button near the door. It is an intercom and you may state your wishes there. Once you claim this room, no one else may enter unless you allow it, for peace of mind."

Jhainer looked surprised, and then glanced inside the room suspiciously. His tail waved behind him with his indecision, but he reluctantly entered the room, with the marble door closing behind him.

"Your room is the next one, Prince Vegeta," Kyanna said, continuing her graceful walk down the corridor, Vegeta closely behind. She came to a stop next to a similar marble door, and gestured for it to open. "You have the same accommodations as Jhainer. Remember, the bell is for entertainment, and the intercom is for other needs."

Kyanna turned back to the prince now, who stood before her. Vegeta did not look into his room, his dark and intense gaze settled on her. Now was his moment – they were steps away from being in a room with complete privacy, and a real bed to boot. With the right words, he could willingly bring the beautiful princess to his room, where he could finally explore what it meant to have a woman to himself…

Unfortunately, the next words that tumbled out of his mouth were, "So how strong are you anyway? You don't look that strong to me."

At once, Vegeta realized he had made a mistake. The warmth in Kyanna's lavender eyes vanished, replaced with cool detachment.

"I am strong enough that no Saiyan would ever concern me in a battle."

Vegeta growled; beautiful or not, he would never allow a challenge to slide. "You have never met a Saiyan like me, Princess Kyanna. In a real battle, I would destroy-"

He was silenced when she grabbed his jaw in an iron tight grip. Vegeta instinctively raised his ki to fight back, but she had him slammed into the wall, hard enough to crack it. He gripped her hand which was painfully grinding his jaw so hard he felt it would fracture any moment. The strength in her one hand was overwhelming, and despite using as much strength as he could, he could not loosen her grip.

"You can keep trying to escalate this if you like, but I'd rather not harm you, Prince Vegeta. Though you are not strong enough to defeat Frieza, you bring other immeasurable value to the movement. Rest assured though." She released the grip on his jaw, making him gasp in relief. He eyed her warily as she leaned in close to him. "I am strong enough to make a Saiyan like you scream…in any way you like," Kyanna said, the mischievous look back in her lavender eyes.

Vegeta was simultaneously offended, impressed, and slightly aroused by her show of strength and by her words. He was again rendered speechless, only able to glare defiantly at her as she leaned in closer. This was a different kind of fight that he was not equipped for. The prince leaned back against the wall, but there was nowhere else for him to go as she pressed up against him.

"A true shame you are still young and clearly inexperienced in the ways of a man," she lamented. "You are really quite handsome, Prince Vegeta."

"I am not that young, I am a man now. And I am not inexperienced," he growled adamantly, lying through his teeth, his heart pounding so hard he was certain she would hear it. For the first time in his life, Vegeta understood how women could drive men to madness. In this moment, he did not care about anything; not the mission, not Frieza, not his rank, not his Saiyan comrades, nothing. His hormones were burning through him, and all he wanted came down to one singular need to touch, feel, and have this princess.

"Oh, but you are completely inexperienced," Kyanna assured, smiling as she leaned in close to his ear and let him in on a secret. "I am a mind reader, Prince Vegeta. I saw your desire the moment you saw me. It is not unusual for men to desire me. But I so rarely come across a real prince, much less one as handsome as you. Oh, it is so interesting to me that you know how to kill a man, Prince Vegeta, but not how to kiss a woman…"

Kyanna kissed him by his ear then, a gentle move he was not used to. Vegeta grunted, unable to speak as a shudder ran through him. He had never been so hard in his life; his palms were pressed flat against the wall behind him, his fingers digging in and cracking the marble. She was so goddamn close to him, he did not fully trust his hands not to manhandle the woman, though part of him was wondering if he would even be able to, with her superior strength-

"You wouldn't," Kyanna answered in a whisper, reading his thoughts. "We do not use scouters as they underestimate strength based on magic, but the last time we tried gauging power levels, I registered at approximately 90,000."

Vegeta's eyes widened in shock. And that was an _underestimation_? He stared at her in bewilderment as she pulled back enough to study his reaction.

"How?" he asked, his voice unsteady, "You don't appear much older than me, how can you be so strong?"

Kyanna smiled. "Magic. It is in our blood. It is why Frieza destroyed our planet. He knew of our potential. I imagine that is why he keeps such a close eye on you as well, Prince Vegeta. You have tremendous potential as well, despite your savagery as his soldier."

"My savagery does not seem to be chasing you away," he muttered, his eyes on her lips as she drew closer to him. He couldn't help but shudder again, almost dizzy with need as her feminine scent overwhelmed him.

"My planet was destroyed when I was ten, by your calendar, which makes me 25 now. My father and I have been on the run for 15 years, surviving by any means necessary, as I trained in the art of sorcery to become stronger. We are well versed in the horrors of the universe. Your savagery does not frighten me. We are similar, you and I – royal heirs with lost thrones, making our way with what we can, doing what we must to stay alive."

Kyanna's lips were hovering over his as she spoke, but it was her words that broke Vegeta's resistance. He finally seized her with his hands, reaching and pulling her into a heated kiss that she had been half-expecting and fully wanting. But when he was rough, frantic, impatient, with not an ounce of gentleness as he practically brutalized her lips and mouth, the princess ended it almost as soon as it began. Kyanna frowned at him in disapproval. Vegeta's eyes were hungrily on her lips; it had been pleasurable for him, so he just wanted more, uncaring for how she felt about it.

"That is not how a woman is to be kissed, much less a princess," she informed him, licking her lips to soothe them.

Vegeta looked up in mild surprise, before he scowled at her. "It was fine for me," he defensively said, trying not to let his confusion show. The only times he had witnessed anyone kissing another were when Raditz and Nappa had done it with the sex slaves, or with women they had encountered along their travels and purges – it had always been rough and brutal, from what he could tell.

"No, Prince Vegeta. You must learn to please your partner," she informed him with a knowing smile as she ran one finger slowly down the front of his silver armor. "For if you do that, then you will experience the height of true pleasure in return…" Kyanna's hand went lower, and Vegeta lost all ability to think as she came closer and closer to his erection that was straining against the material of his pants. No one had ever touched him there, and the warrior part of him wanted to stop her before she could do something to injure him in such a sensitive area - but the Saiyan male part of him wanted to know what it would feel like to have such an intimate touch…

"Kyanna!" they heard her father call in the distance, his voice booming. The princess pulled back, looking towards where they had walked from. Vegeta bit his lip hard to keep from groaning as she pulled away from him.

"My father has more visitors that I must tend to, more to help our cause," Kyanna said, turning back to the prince. She gave him a sly look when she saw the look of disapproval on Vegeta's face, smiling over his flushed features from his arousal. She read his mind perfectly as she said, "You are here for some days longer, Prince Vegeta, so we shall see what transpires – I may have time to show you a thing or two about being a man before you leave. After all, there are no guarantees in our mission. We may very well die in this resistance, so it is important to seize the opportunities that life presents us in the meantime. Until then, Prince Vegeta."

Vegeta's nose twitched in mild agitation as he watched her take her leave, as casually as though nothing had transpired between them. He reached his arm up and wiped his forearm across his forehead to get rid of his sweat, muttering to himself as he turned and practically staggered into his room, the door automatically closing behind him.

He quickly found the bath – in it was something that looked like a black portal opening. He hurriedly undressed, then stepped into the portal opening as he extended his arms. Darkness surrounded his whole body, and he felt water hitting him all over from head to toe as he was methodically bathed by the cleaning portal. He released a breath in relief that the water was cold, letting it calm him and bring him back to half sanity.

Moments later, Jhainer knocked hard on the door to Vegeta's guest quarters. The young Trikan was bored, restless, and unable to sleep in his new surroundings. The bed in particular was far too soft, and though he had been assured of privacy, he could not fully trust it. He doubted Vegeta was faring better, and knocked harder, until the door finally slid open and Vegeta appeared, only half dressed from his shower.

"What?" Vegeta demanded irritably.

"I couldn't sleep, and I was bored," Jhainer responded, and for a moment, Vegeta was reminded of Nappa. "I was thinking of exploring the palace more. Want to come?"

Vegeta snorted. "Did you use the _entertainment_ option?"

"Yes, and then I was asked if I wanted two male whores, two female whores, or a custom option. I said I wanted none of it," Jhainer explained. Vegeta raised an eyebrow – had he known whores were the entertainment option, he may have used that instead of relying on his hand for relief while he bathed. Then he could go back to the princess with some _experience,_ and prove himself as a man in her eyes-

"Vegeta?" Jhainer asked, looking at the other teenager suspiciously. Vegeta blinked as Jhainer scowled at him. "Well, better you indulge in the entertainment, than in the princess," he sneered.

Vegeta glared at him in response. "Shut up, Trikan, or I'll give you the fight you want."

"Anytime, anywhere, Saiyan. Now, are you joining or not?"

"Hn, fine," Vegeta grumbled, turning around as Jhainer took a step inside. The prince knew without asking why Jhainer could not sleep, and though he could manage it himself, he was more curious to see the rest of the palace than he was tired. Plus, it was best he not stay in his quarters, with only the princess to dominate his thoughts.

Vegeta got dressed again in his uniform, and soon he and Jhainer were walking down the corridor together as they went deeper into the palace. Everything was ornate and luxurious. The walls were lined with pieces of gold and art that seemed worth a fortune. The small things that could fit in their armor, Vegeta and Jhainer swiped here and there and tucked away – such things would be worth good money on the market, after all. Vegeta had a decent credit accumulated now from the goods he swiped and sold after his purges over the years, and he knew this would make a good addition, though he would have to use his discipline so the princess would not pluck _that_ thought from his mind.

Finally, they reached another great room, more luxurious than the rest. The floor was made of something that looked like glass, with what looked like blue flames right underneath. There was no ceiling this time, only the purple sky and the stars above them. Jhainer walked past some large pillars to the end, and then took a seat there, his feet hanging over the edge. Vegeta joined him shortly afterwards, sitting next to him as he peered over the edge. From the altitude, they could see how far the planetary rings stretched, further than they could see.

"What do you think so far?" Jhainer quietly asked.

Vegeta shrugged, shifting his gaze upwards towards the sky. "The princess says she last tested at a power level of 90,000, and claims that is an underestimation due to her sorceress abilities not being reflected in power levels."

"90,000!" Jhainer exclaimed in shock.

"I know."

"That must be enough to defeat Frieza, don't you think?"

"I don't think so. No one knows how truly powerful he is, but it is rumored that he is at least in the 6 figures."

"Yes, but maybe she is too, with her magic being the key."

"Hn. Hard to know," Vegeta muttered. He left his legs hanging over the edge as he reclined backwards, folding his arms behind his head. "What do you think?"

"Well, it depends how quickly they would like to make a move. If we can wait, then we can all grow stronger. I like that they seem organized though. Kynton and Kyanna have both managed to escape detection for years. They must have good contacts."

"I suppose." Vegeta scowled up at the vast purple night sky above him. It almost felt as if he was floating through space. "She can read minds, just so you know. If you are interested in her, she already knows."

"Oh?" Jhainer asked, bringing one knee up. He too was staring up at the sky. "And what does the princess think of your interest in her?"

"Why? Jealous?" Vegeta taunted.

"Tch," Jhainer scoffed. "I have no need for her."

"Oh? Is that why you declined the whores? Oh, let me guess: Trikans reproduce asexually and simply lay and hatch eggs," Vegeta mockingly said, before laughing. "Oh, no, wait. You just spit out a miniature clone of yourself when it's time to reproduce. Is that it?"

Jhainer smirked in amusement. "No. I have the same equipment as you." He paused, his smirk spreading as he added, "Bigger, I'm sure, what with your stature."

Vegeta snorted. "Dream on, Trikan. In any case, if what you say is true, then why no interest?" he asked curiously.

Jhainer was silent for so long, Vegeta just figured he would not be receiving an answer. The Saiyan prince was calm though, after his shower and his own relief, and so he did not need an answer anyway. Star gazing was one of the few pleasures he allowed himself in life in his rare downtime, something that needed no explanation and no one else to participate.

He was surprised, then, when Jhainer finally spoke and answered.

"I have no interest…because I already have someone," Jhainer softly admitted.

"Oh?" Vegeta blinked in surprise. "Who? One of the sex slaves on base?"

"Not exactly."

"Who then? A whore?"

"She is not a whore," Jhainer responded, his soft voice slightly heated. Vegeta raised an eyebrow, and then sat up enough so he was reclining back on his forearms as he studied the young Trikan soldier next to him.

"You…actually…care about her?" Vegeta asked in bewilderment.

"Is it so shocking to care about someone else?"

Vegeta scowled in disapproval. "We are soldiers, we do Frieza's bidding. You and I have ended more lives between us than we could ever meet in a lifetime. There is no capacity for caring in our lives, you know that."

"If all goes according to plan, we won't be doing Frieza's bidding for much longer," Jhainer replied, finally looking back over to the younger teenager reclining next to him.

Vegeta snorted in disgust, and then laid back down. "You are far more foolish than I ever took you for. It is one thing to take your fill and leave her behind, it is another to linger like you are doing. It is in your best interest that you do not share this with anyone else, or significant pain will be rained down upon you, Jhainer. That is the cost of attachment."

"Not if we succeed," Jhainer argued, his gaze shifting back up to the stars. "You talk about how you and I live our lives, but if you can imagine, someone…someone pure, who can look past that, and see _you,_ then you would understand."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "It's impossible. And even if it wasn't, why would you even want such a thing? It only makes you weak, Jhainer."

"I think you are wrong. It makes this risk worthwhile." Jhainer paused in thought, frowning as he did. "What about you? Have you thought of what you will do when we are freed from Frieza's tyranny?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Vegeta did not answer that. He could not fully articulate how letting himself imagine such a future would give birth to real, tangible hope; it was much too dangerous. There was still part of him that half-expected Frieza to emerge right there behind them, and execute them with no hesitation. He could not be foolish and allow himself to be seduced by plans for the future. He had his hands full with the present.

"So…" Vegeta started after a while of silence between them. Jhainer looked over at him and caught a smirk. "Is she good?"

"Watch your mouth, Saiyan," Jhainer growled angrily.

Vegeta's smirk just grew. "Must be some amazing fucking to make you go back for more-"

"I will break your face-"

"You up for sharing her? If she's satisfied by the likes of you, then she'll be even more satisfied with me-"

Vegeta immediately rolled out of the way of a ki blast that Jhainer shot down at him that left the glass floor cracked. Both of them were instantly back up on their feet, and were trading fast blows in an impromptu fight. Jhainer dodged a kick and quickly spun around, smashing his heavy tail right into Vegeta's face, with so much force that he knocked Vegeta right out into the open air. Vegeta's ki ignited around him as he braced himself in midair, smirking in appreciation as Jhainer's ki also ruptured. The Trikan took off after him as they took their fight to the open air.

From down below, a princess and a king watched the fight continue, flashes of ki exploding as Vegeta and Jhainer both moved faster than the eye could see. Kyanna leaned her head out in interest as she watched the fight.

"They are showing their youth, aren't they?" Kyanna asked quietly.

"They are not much younger than you, my daughter," Kynton replied, gripping his staff tightly as he turned his gaze to his daughter. "They are both fighters though, and they have direct inside access to Frieza and his men that we cannot get otherwise." He paused briefly, then frowned as he added, "I saw how the Saiyan was looking at you, and you at him. Don't mix business with pleasure, Kyanna."

Her eyebrows drew together in disapproval over her father still telling her what to do. "If we fail, we will all soon be dead anyway, Father," she reminded him.

"We won't fail, we almost have everything in place. You will see."

The princess remained silent as her father took his leave, her lavender eyes rising to the fight between Jhainer and Vegeta. Though it looked like they were trying to kill each other, it lacked the real malice and tenacity of a life or death fight. It was merely a test of skill, and for two teenage boys who had a real passion for fighting, a way to blow off steam. She studied their skill, lamenting that it would take so long to raise their power and strength enough to engage Frieza directly – she was not opposed to having more direct help in the task. She and her father had spent years preparing for this, and though she had confidence in her own ability, there were many moving parts at play that had to come together perfectly to take down the ruthless tyrant. If anyone made a mistake, or faltered, or even worse - betrayed them... 

She sighed, drawing her robe closer as a chill went through her.

"We will see, indeed."


End file.
